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rman  B.  Eaton. 


Dorman  B.  Eaton 

1823-1899. 


li  I  think  everyone,  according  to  the  way  Providence  has 
placed  him  in,  is  bound  to  labor  for  the  public  good  as 
far  as  he  is  able" — foHN  Locke. 


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Dorman  B.  Eaton  was  born  in  Hardwick,  Vt., 
June  27,  1823.  He  was  the  son  of  the  Hon.  Nathaniel 
Eaton  and  Ruth  Bridgeman  Eaton.  The  earliest  Ameri- 
can Eaton  was  John  of  that  name,  who,  coming  from 
England  in  1635,  settled  in  the  Massachusetts  Colony. 
Dorman  B.  Eaton  graduated  at  the  University  of  Vermont 
in  1848  and  the  Harvard  Law  School  two  years  later, 
taking  the  prize  for  the  prize  essay  upon  his  graduation. 
A  member  of  the  Prize  Committee  for  the  award  was 
Judge  William  Kent,  of  New  York  City,  son  of  Chan- 
cellor Kent,  the  author  of  the  "Commentaries.  "  Judge 
Kent  immediately  offered  young  Eaton  enployment  in 
New  York  as  his  assistant  in  editing  the  "Commentaries ' ' 
of  the  elder  Kent.  Mr.  Eaton  was  admitted  to  the  New 
York  Bar  in  1857,  anc*  eighteen  months  after  graduation 
became  the  partner  of  Judge  Kent.  He  at  once  attracted 
attention  by  his  legal  ability,  and  entered  upon  a  dis- 
tinguished career,  not  only  in  active  practice,  but  as  a 
writer  upon  legal  and  civic  subjects. 


M199932 


He  was  married  in  1856  to  Miss  Annie  S.  Foster,  of 
New  York  City. 

Mr.  Eaton  drafted  the  health  law  which  inaugurated 
the  administration  of  that  department  in  New  York  City. 
He  was,  also,  counsel  for  the  Erie  Railway  and  for  the 
Boston,  Hartford  and  Erie.  The  sharp  contests  in  which 
railroad  administration  was  involved  at  that  time  brought 
Mr.  Eaton  into  active  opposition  to  the  administration  of 
Fiske  and  Gould.  His  successes  in  the  legal  contention 
with  these  men  brought  about  active  enmity  upon  their 
part  toward  him.  On  the  night  before  an  important 
action  in  the  courts  an  attempt  was  made  upon  Mr.  Eaton's 
life  upon  Fifth  Avenue  by  unknown  persons,  and  he  was 
seriously  injured.  This  painful  incident  did  not  deter 
Mr.  Eaton  from  opposition  to  wrongdoing,  but  upon  his 
recovery  he  entered  upon  his  life  work  as  a  worker 
in  municipal  reform  and  for  the  reform  of  the  Civil 
Service. 

In  connection  with  Civil  Service  reform  Mr.  Eaton 
made  two  extended  tours  in  Europe  for  the  study  of  the 
subject,  both  in  England  and  on  the  Continent.  In  1873 
President  Grant  appointed  Mr.  Eaton  Chairman  of  the 
National   Civil  Service  Commission  at  Washington,   in 


which  place  he  succeeded  the  Hon.  George  W.  Curtis. 
When  the  reform  was  practically  abandoned  by  the  Gov- 
ernment in  1875  Mr.  Eaton  renewed  his  efforts  in  its 
behalf,  speaking  and  writing  with  such  good  effect  that, 
after  making  a  report  for  President  Hayes,  in  1880,  upon 
the  condition  of  the  Civil  Service  in  the  Post-Office  and 
Custom  House  in  New  York  City,  the  Government 
returned  to  the  serious  consideration  of  the  Civil  Service. 
In  1883  Mr.  Eaton  was  appointed  again  upon  the  Com- 
mission by  President  Arthur,  and  was  reappointed  by 
President  Cleveland  in  1886.  The  national  law  for  the 
administration  of  the  Civil  Sen-ice  was  drawn  by  Mr. 
Eaton,  and  remains  practically  unchanged  to-day.  How 
well  Mr.  Eaton  exemplified  his  own  theory  respecting  the 
Civil  Service  may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  he  served  under 
four  administrations  as  Commissioner. 

His  public  service  was  rendered,  for  the  most  part,  out- 
side of  official  life,  as  a  private  citizen,  working  for  the 
public  good.  In  1870  he  gave  up  a  lucrative  practice 
and  all  private  business,  and  for  thirty  years  devoted  him- 
self to  the  high  vocation  of  a  publicist  and  student  of 
municipal  conditions.  His  last-published  work,  "The 
Government  of  Municipalities,"    issued   from  the   press 


only  a  few  months  before  his  death,  and  was  the  best 
fruit  of  his  ripe  wisdom  and  rich  experience.  He  died 
at  his  home  in  New  York,  after  a  brief  illness,  on  the 
morning  of  December  23,  1899.  On  the  evening  of 
December  24th  a  religious  service,  conducted  by  the 
Reverend  Robert  Colly er  and  the  Reverend  Thomas  R. 
Slicer,  was  held  at  his  residence.  He  was  buried  in  the 
burial  ground  of  the  family  at  Montpelier,  Vt.,  on 
December  26th. 


flDemortal  Service 


OF 


Dorman   B.   Eaton, 


HELD   IN    THF. 


CHURCH  OF  ALL  SOULS, 


NEW  YORK, 


January  21,  1900. 


8 
Voluntary,  Largo  by  Handel,  -  Organ  and  Violoncello 

Prayer,  -  Rev.  Thos.  R.  Slicer 


Our  Father,  we  pray  thee  that  the  divine  spirit  may  be 
in  this  service ;  that  we,  whose  love  is  restricted  to  the 
duty  of  memory,  and  longs  for  its  other  offices,  may  be 
able  to  feel  that  life  grows  more  sacred,  and  its  duties 
gather  sanctity,  and  that  the  will  of  God  sounds  more 
clearly,  calling  us  to  complete  the  work  laid  down  by 
thy  workman  who  has  gone  before.  O  spirit  of  the 
living  God,  who  art  in  our  lives  the  breath  of  life,  in  our 
hearts  the  divine  affection,  and  in  our  lives  the  law 
divine,  brood  us,  we  pray  thee,  this  hour,  kindling  our 
diviner  nature  to  its  highest  offices,  and  leading  us  by  the 
paths  that  have  been  marked  out  before  us,  along  the 
ways  God  shall  choose. 

We  thank  God  that  we  may  hold  this  service  in  this 
hour  with  unclouded  hearts  ;  that  there  is  naught  within 
us  to  dim  our  vision  save  our  grief,  and  naught  in  us  to 
give  bitterness  save  our  loss  ;  and  that  in  the  fidelities  of 
life,  in  the  splendid  achievements  of  human  intercourse 
and  human  service,  we  call  God  to  witness  the  work  in 
man's  behalf,  and  through  man,  and  the  fidelity  and 
courage  and  devotion  of  his  child.  From  this  hour  may 
we  be  better — better  as  workers,  better  as  well-wishers, 
better  as  aspiring  spirits,  unto  the  higher  levels  of  life  ; 
and  to  this  end  we  give  ourselves  again  to  God,  and 
dedicate  ourselves  unto  thy  will.     Amen. 


Hymn, 


Congregation 


O  God,  the  Rock  of  Ages, 

Who  evermore  hast  been, 
What  time  the  tempest  rages, 

Our  dwelliog-place  serene  : 
Before  Thy  first  creations, 

O  Lord,  the  same  as  now, 
To  endless  generations 

The  everlasting  Thou  ! 

Our  years  are  like  the  shadows 

O'er  sunny  hills  that  fly, 
Or  grasses  in  the  meadows 

That  blossom  but  to  die  ; 
A  sleep,  a  dream,  a  story 

By  strangers  quickly  told, 
An  unremaining  glory 

Of  things  that  soon  are  old. 

O  Thou,  who  canst  not  slumber, 

Whose  light  grows  never  pale, 
Teach  us  aright  to  number 

Our  years  before  they  fail. 
On  us  Thy  mercy  lighten, 

On  us  Thy  goodness  rest, 
And  let  Thy  spirit  brighten 

The  hearts  Thyself  hath  blessed 


Address, 
Address, 
Solo, 


Dr.  Stephen  Smith 

Hon.  Carl  Schurz 

Violoncello 


IO 


Address, 


Mr.  John  Harsen  Rhoades 


Address, 


Rev.  Thos.  R.  Slicer 


Hymn, 


Congregation 


How  happy  is  he  born  or  taught, 
Who  serveth  not  another's  will ; 
Whose  armor  is  his  honest  thought, 
And  simple  truth  his  highest  skill ; 

Whose  passions  not  his  masters  are  ; 
Whose  soul  is  still  prepared  for  death, 
Not  tied  unto  the  world  with  care 
Of  prince's  ear  or  vulgar  breath ; 

Who  God  doth  late  and  early  pray 
More  of  his  grace  than  goods  to  lend  ; 
And  walks  with  man,  from  day  to  day, 
As  with  a  brother  and  a  friend. 

This  man  is  freed  from  servile  bands 
Of  hope  to  rise,  of  fear  to  fall ; 
Lord  of  himself,  though  not  of  lands, 
And  having  nothing,  yet  hath  all. 

Sir  Henry  Wotton. 


Benediction, 


Rev.  Thos.  R.  Slicer 


Violoncello  and  Organ. 


Bfcfcress  b$  5>r.  Stepben  Smttb. 

The  progress  of  the  race  is  largely  affected  in  each  gen- 
eration by  a  few  pioneers  who,  with  toil  and  sacrifice, 
prepare  the  way  for  the  advance.  Of  these  pioneers 
some  blaze  the  future  course  in  the  unexplored  and  track- 
less forest ;  others  remove  the  obstructions  which  impede 
the  builders;  while  a  few  expert  engineers  bridge  the 
rivers,  tunnel  the  mountains  and  lay  broad  and  deep  the 
foundations  of  the  great  highway  along  which  humanity 
passes  to  a  higher  civilization.  Unfortunately  these  pio- 
neers are  not  always  known  to  public  fame,  and  far  too 
often,  though  benefactors  of  their  race,  pass  away  with- 
out a  proper  recognition  of  their  services.  This  apparent 
neglect  is  not  due  to  a  lack  of  appreciation  of  their  work 
by  the  people,  but  rather  to  the  fact  that  their  labors  are 
performed  in  obscurity,  and  hence  are  unknown.  Far  in 
the  wilderness,  or  deep  in  the  tunnel,  or  in  the  mire  of 
the  caisson,  they  toil  all  unseen  by  their  generation,  sacri- 
ficing health  and  often  life  while  searching  for  the  true 
pathway  or  laying  its  foundations.  When  the  bridges 
are  builded,  the  tunnels  completed  and  the  broad  highway 
is  thrown  open  for  travel  and  traffic,  few  or  none  of  the 
passing  throng  give  a  moment's  thought  to  the  labors 
and  sacrifices  of  the  builders,  or  the  tribute  of  a  sigh  to 
the  memory  of  those  who  perished  at  their  work. 

Impressed  with  a  sense  of  public  obligation  and  of  a 
duty  to  the  memory  of  a  citizen  with  whose  labors  and 


12 

sacrifices  in  the  interests  of  this  city  I  had  special  oppor- 
tunities to  become  familiar,  it  has  been  a  grateful  task  to 
place  on  record  some  of  the  incidents  in  the  life  of  Hon. 
Dorman  B.  Eaton  as  they  came  under  my  personal  obser- 
vation. He  was  by  nature,  education  and  association  a 
reformer  of  the  civil  administration.  Born  and  bred  in 
the  rural  communities  of  Vermont,  educated  at  Harvard, 
a  partner  of  the  famous  Judge  Kent,  of  this  city,  and  an 
associate  of  men  of  the  type  of  William  Curtis  Noyes, 
Charles  O' Conor  and  others  of  equal  reputation,  Mr. 
Baton  was  admirably  equipped  for  the  great  work  to 
which  he  devoted  so  much  of  his  life  and  energies.  Nor 
was  he  a  reformer  whose  methods  were  simply  destructive 
of  what  he  regarded  as  wrong  or  evil  in  the  municipal 
government ;  on  the  contrary,  his  mind  was  eminently 
constructive,  and  consequently  he  sought  to  remedy 
defects  by  substituting  the  new  and  best  for  the  old  and 
worst  with  as  little  friction  and  disturbance  as  possible. 
Thus  he  quietly  and  without  observation,  as  a  master 
builder,  laid  the  foundations  and  reared  the  massive 
superstructures  of  four  of  the  best  organized  and  most 
efficient  departments  of  our  city  government — viz.,  the 
Department  of  Health,  the  Fire  Department,  the  Depart- 
ment of  Docks,  the  Police  Judiciary. 

My  personal  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Eaton  began  in 
the  year  1864,  when  we  became  associated  in  an  effort  to 
secure  reforms  in  the  sanitary  government  of  the  City  of 
New  York.  Although  prior  to  this  date  there  had  been 
periods  of  agitation  in  iavor  of  a  more  efficient  health 
organization,  especially  when  epidemics,  like  cholera, 
visited  the  city  and  the  utter  worthlessness  of  our  health 


*3 

officials  became  apparent,  yet  there  had  been  no  such 
organized  effort  as  that  of  1864.  Previous  agitation  had, 
however,  been  very  useful  in  preparing  the  way  for  the 
final  struggle,  by  creating  a  popular  interest  in  these 
reforms  and  in  rendering  the  public  mind  both  sympa- 
thetic and  receptive.  Some  of  the  incidents  leading  up 
to  the  events  of  1865  and  1866  are  worthy  of  mention. 
In  1865  the  Academy  of  Medicine  appealed  to  the  Legis- 
lature for  relief  from  the  evils  of  an  insufficient  health 
organization,  and  as  a  result  a  committee  of  that  body  in- 
vestigated the  sanitary  condition  of  the  city.  It  appeared 
that  there  were  four  seperate  departments  devoted  to  the 
conservation  of  the  public  health.  First,  was  the  Board 
of  Health,  composed  of  the  Aldermen  and  Mayor.  When 
this  body  was  organized  as  a  Board  of  Health  it  had 
supreme  power,  both  in  the  abatement  of  nuisances 
and  the  expenditure  of  money.  So  much  and  so  justly 
was  this  Board  feared,  that  Fernando  Wood,  while 
Mayor,  refused  to  call  it  into  existence  during  an  epi- 
demic of  cholera,  declaring  that  the  Board  of  Health 
was  more  to  be  feared  than  the  pestilence.  Second, 
was  the  Commissioners  of  Health,  composed  of  the 
Mayor  and  the  Recorder,  the  City  Inspector,  the  Health 
Commissioner,  the  Resident  Physician,  and  the  Port 
Health  Officer.  This  body  had  no  adequate  power 
and  was  perfectly  useless  both  for  good  and  evil.  Third, 
was  the  Resident  Physician,  whose  duties  were  limited 
to  visiting  the  sick  poor.  Fourth,  was  the  City  In- 
spector, a  most  formidable  official  politically,  for  he  had 
the  right  to  expend  annually  $1,000,000  without  M  let  or 
hindrance."     His  jurisdiction  extended  to  the  cleaning 


H 

of  the  street,  gathering  vital  statistics  and  preserving 
the  public  health  by  the  appointment  of  Health  Wardens 
for  each  ward.  The  investigation  showed  that  this 
department,  the  only  one  which  actually  exercised 
public-health  functions,  was  permeated  with  corruption, 
ignorance  and  venality.  The  City  Inspector  was  the 
lowest  type  of  ward  politician,  the  vital  statistics  were 
crude  and  unreliable,  there  was  no  pretense  of  cleaning 
the  streets,  and  the  Health  Wardens  were  for  the  most 
part  keepers  of  saloons.  It  was  shown  in  the  evidence 
that  no  Health  Warden  ever  dared  to  visit  a  house  where 
there  was  a  case  of  contagious  disease.  One,  who  was 
asked  what  is  the  best  method  of  preventing  small- pox, 
replied :  "  Burn  sulphur  in  the  room."  Another,  asked 
to  define  the  term  "  hygiene,"  said :  "  It  is  a  mist  rising 
from  wet  grounds. ' '  The  report  of  this  committee  created 
a  profound  sensation  and  gave  the  first  impetus  to  a 
reform  movement.  A  number  of  prominent  physicians 
and  influential  citizens  became  deeply  interested  in  the 
subject  and  determined  to  secure  proper  legislation. 
Health  bills  were  annually  prepared  and  sent  to  the 
Legislature  only  to  be  rejected  under  the  direction  of 
the  City  Inspector,  whose  $1,000,000  was  expended 
freely  in  the  lobby  at  Albany.  But  the  agitation  in- 
creased in  force  with  successive  defeats,  a  large  and 
still  larger  number  of  people  were  added  to  the  ranks 
of  the  reformers  until  the  movement  culminated  in  the 
organization  of  the  Citizens'  Association  in  1864,  with 
Peter  Cooper  as  president,  and  upwards  of  a  hundred 
of  the  leading  citizens  as  members.  The  moving  spirit 
in  organizing  and  managing  this  powerful  body  was  Mr. 


'5 

Nathaniel  Sands,  an  ardent  and  enthusiastic  sanitarian. 
Two  departments  were  created  in  the  Association  through 
which  the  principal  work  was  to  be  done  ;  viz.,  a  Council 
of  Law  and  a  Council  of  Hygiene.  Mr.  Eaton  was  an 
active  member  of  the  former,  and  I  was  for  a  considerable 
time  secretary  of  the  latter.  Thus  we  were  brought 
into  frequent  consultation  over  a  public-health  law,  which 
the  Association  had  determined  to  have  prepared  for 
introduction  into  the  next  Legislature.  It  was  decided 
that  the  Council  of  Hygiene  should  make  a  first  draft  of 
the  bill  in  which  should  be  incorporated  the  necessary 
sanitary  provisions.  This  draft  was  then  to  be  submitted 
to  the  Legal  Council  for  completion  in  legislative  form. 
As  secretary  of  the  Council  of  Hygiene  I  had  to  prepare 
the  first  draft  of  the  bill,  which  was  done  along  the  lines 
of  former  bills  and  seemed  to  the  members  to  be  a  very 
perfect  piece  of  work.  When,  however,  the  bill  came 
from  the  Legal  Council,  scarcely  a  shred  of  the  original 
draft  was  recognizable. 

Though  the  Legal  Council  was  composed  of  the  lead- 
ing lawyers  of  the  city  at  that  time,  the  revision  and 
completion  of  the  health  law  was  committed  to  Mr.  Eaton, 
a  junior  member.  This  selection  proved  to  be  of  immense 
importance  to  the  immediate  sanitary  interests  of  this 
city,  and  secondarily  to  the  creation  and  administration 
of  the  health  laws  of  the  United  States.  The  field  of 
sanitary  legislation  was  entirely  uncultivated  in  this 
country  at  that  time,  and  the  principles  on  which  health 
laws  should  be  based  were  unrecognized  except  by  the 
more  advanced  students.  Mr.  Eaton  fortunately  proved 
to  be  one  of  the  few  citizens  who  had  kept  pace  with  the 


16 

progress  of  sanitary  reforms  in  England,  and  entered 
fully  into  the  spirit  of  the  great  movement  that  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century  agitated  the  people  of  that  country. 
Alarmed  by  the  high  death  rate  annually  reported  by  the 
Registrar  General,  and  informed  that  the  larger  part  was 
due  to  preventible  diseases,  the  public  demanded  adequate 
remedial  measures  of  Government.  The  contest  was  long 
and  most  exciting,  the  issues  often  being  carried  into  the 
arena  of  politics.  The  Prime  Minister  once  declared  that 
there  was  such  a  craze  about  sanitation  that  the  rallying 
cry  of  an  election  campaign  might  well  be  u  Sanitas  san- 
itatis  omnis  sanitas. ' '  The  triumph  of  the  reformers  was 
finally  complete,  and  England  adopted  a  code  of  health 
laws  that  are  models  of  excellence,  and  which,  in  their 
enforcement,  have  made  its  cities  and  towns  the  healthiest 
in  the  world. 

When  our  health  bill  came  from  the  hands  of  Mr.  Eaton 
it  was  evident  in  every  line  that  he  had  made  an  exhaust- 
ive study  of  the  English  health  code  and  had  become  thor- 
oughly imbued  with  its  spirit.  The  language  was  not 
altogether  familiar,  and  in  the  involved  sentences  there 
were  intimations  of  extraordinary  powers  quite  unknown 
to  our  jurisprudence.  When  he  brought  the  completed 
bill  before  the  Legal  and  Medical  Councils  for  adop- 
tion it  was  subjected  to  a  most  searching  criticism. 
While  most  of  its  sections  were  clear  and  readily  under- 
stood, there  were  portions  which  were  so  obscure,  owing 
to  the  methods  of  expression  employed,  that  the  legal 
members  were  in  doubt  as  to  the  proper  construction  to 
be  put  upon  them,  while  the  medical  members  were 
altogether  at  a  loss  as  to  their  meaning.      Mr.   Eaton 


17 

explained  the  theory  of  modern  health  legislation  as 
illustrated  by  the  English  laws,  and  contended  that  a 
thoroughly  organized  and  efficient  Board  of  Health  must 
have  extraordinary  powers,  and  must  not  be  subordinated 
to  any  other  branch  of  the  civil  service,  not  even  to  the 
courts.  What  it  declares  to  be  a  nuisance — dangerous  to 
life  and  detrimental  to  health — no  one  should  call  in  ques- 
tion. When  it  orders  a  nuisance  to  be  abated  within  a 
given  fixed  time  no  mandamus  should  avail  to  stay  its 
action  or  the  enforcement  of  its  decree.  A  Board  of 
Health,  in  his  opinion,  should  make  its  own  laws,  exe- 
cute its  own  laws  and  sit  in  judgment  on  its  own  acts. 
It  must  be  an  imperium  in  imperio.  England,  the  fore- 
most country  in  the  world  in  the  cultivation  of  sanitary 
science  and  in  the  application  of  its  principles  to  practice, 
had  by  its  legislation  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  estab- 
lished a  precedent  which  it  was  right  and  safe  for  us  to 
follow.  He  predicted  that  if  this  bill  became  a  law  its 
operations  would  be  so  beneficial  that  it  would  not  only 
become  very  popular  in  this  city,  but  that  it  would  be  the 
basis  of  future  health  legislation  in  this  country.  He 
believed,  however,  that  no  Legislature  would  pass  a  bill 
containing  such  powers  if  these  powers  were  made  a 
prominent  feature  of  the  bill.  For  that  reason  he  had 
adopted  that  involved  expression  peculiar  to  English  law 
which  required  a  judicial  interpretation  to  determine  the 
precise  meaning.  The  bill  was  approved  in  the  form 
presented  by  Mr.  Eaton,  and  preparation  was  made  to 
secure  its  passage. 

As  the  City  Inspector  with  his  Health  Wardens  always 
appeared  at  Albany  when  a  health  bill  was  before  the 


i8 

Legislature,  denying  vociferously  the  alleged  unsanitary 
condition  of  the  city,  Mr.  Eaton  advised  that  the  Asso- 
ciation make  a  careful  inspection  of  the  city  with  its  own 
inspectors.  This  inspection  was  organized  by  the  Council 
of  Hygiene  and  prosecuted  during  the  summer  of  1864 
by  young  physicians,  and  was  the  most  exhaustive 
study  of  the  sanitary  condition  ever  made  of  a  city, 
even  by  officials.  The  results  were  published  in  a  large 
volume  which  has  been  pronounced  by  authorities  at 
home  and  abroad  as  equal  to  the  best  official  reports  of 
European  cities.  The  bill  was  early  introduced  into  the 
Legislature  of  1865.  In  due  time  it  came  before  a  joint 
committee  of  both  houses,  with  Senator  Andrew  D.  White 
in  the  chair.  The  City  Inspector,  with  his  Health 
Wardens,  was  present,  and  a  large  attendance  of  mem- 
bers with  several  prominent  citizens  of  New  York.  At 
Mr.  Eaton's  request  I  described  the  deplorable  sanitary 
condition  of  the  city  as  revealed  by  our  inspections  and  ex- 
plained the  medical  features  of  the  bill.  He  followed  with 
a  brilliant  and  exhaustive  speech  on  the  nature  of  sanitary 
legislation  and  the  value  to  cities  of  adequate  health  laws 
administered  by  well-organized  boards  of  health.  At  the 
conclusion  of  the  hearing  the  members  of  the  Committee 
assured  us  that  if  the  two  houses  were  in  session  they 
would  pass  the  bill  at  once.  But  we  were  doomed  to  dis- 
appointment. The  City  Inspector  secured  delays,  and 
meantime  employed  through  his  agents  the  means  at  his 
command  to  defeat  the  bill.  The  agitation,  however, 
was  continued  during  the  year,  chiefly  through  the  New 
York  Times,  then  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Raymond, 
an  ardent  reformer.      Mr.   Eaton   advised  the   Medical 


19 

Council  to  interest  the  physicians  of  the  country,  and 
especially  urge  them  not  to  nominate  men  who  had  voted 
against  the  bill  in  the  last  Legislature.  This  plan  was 
carried  out,  and  seventeen  former  members  failed  of  re- 
nomination  to  the  Assembly.  The  result  of  this  scheme 
succeeded  admirably,  for  the  new  Legislature  was  to  some 
extent  pledged  to  support  the  bill  when  they  came  to  the 
Capitol.  The  bill  promptly  passed  both  houses  early  in 
the  session  of  1866,  and  in  March  the  Metropolitan  Board 
of  Health  was  organized.  Mr.  Eaton  accepted  the  posi- 
tion of  counsellor  to  the  Board,  which  position  he  retained 
several  years. 

As  he  had  anticipated,  a  suit  against  the  Board  was 
early  commenced  to  test  the  constitutionality  of  the  law. 
He  was  very  apprehensive  of  the  results,  and  made  the 
most  thorough  preparation  to  argue  the  case.  He  was 
successful  in  the  lower  courts,  and  finally  won  in  the  Court 
of  Appeals  by  a  majority  of  one.  He  always  regarded 
his  success  in  the  management  of  this  case  as  one  of  the 
most  important  events  of  his  life,  for  on  the  decision  of 
the  highest  court  depended  the  fate  of  health  legislation 
in  this  country. 

No  one  unfamiliar  with  the  sanitary  condition  of  this 
city  prior  to  1864  can  form  any  adequate  conception  of 
the  enormous  benefits  conferred,  not  only  upon  this 
metropolis,  but  upon  the  entire  country,  by  the  labors 
of  Mr.  Eaton  and  his  associates  in  securing  to  it  the 
Metropolitan  Health  Law.  During  the  former  period 
New  York  was  a  prey  to  every  form  of  pestilence  known 
to  man.  Smallpox,  the  most  preventible  of  contagious 
diseases,  was  epidemic  in  this  city  every  five  years,  and 


20 

created  a  large  death  rate  among  the  children.  Scarlet 
fever  and  diphtheria  spread  through  the  city  without  the 
slightest  effort  on  the  part  of  the  officials  to  control  them. 
Cholera  visited  us  once  in  ten  years  without  any  adequate 
measures  of  prevention.  The  annual  mortality  was 
greater  than  any  city  of  a  civilized  country,  it  being  esti- 
mated that  7,000  people  died  yearly  from  preventible 
diseases.  The  tenement-house  population  lived  under 
the  most  unhealthy  and  degrading  conditions,  a  prey  to 
greedy  landlords,  and  without  any  possible  relief  or 
redress.  In  one  notorious  building,  which  covered  an 
ordinary  city  lot,  were  fifty  families,  with  a  total  popu- 
lation of  five  hundred  persons.  Here  every  form  of 
domestic  pestilence  could  be  found  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year.  Still  more  deplorable  was  the  condition  of  the 
tenants  of  cellars.  Of  these  so-called  ■ '  Troglodytes '  ■ 
there  were  5,000  living  in  rooms  the  ceilings  of  which 
were  below  the  level  of  the  surface  of  the  street.  To 
the  present  generation  it  may  appear  incredible  that 
there  was  neither  law,  ordinance  nor  department  of  the 
city  government  capable  of  giving  the  slightest  relief. 
This  was  illustrated  in  an  attempt  to  break  up  a  fever 
nest  in  i860.  The  landlord  refused  to  make  the  slightest 
repairs,  or  cleansing,  in  a  tenement  house  from  which 
upwards  of  one  hundred  cases  of  fever  had  been  removed 
to  the  hospital.  The  attorney  to  the  Police  Department 
was  unable  to  find  any  law  or  ordinance  by  which  he 
could  be  compelled  to  cleanse,  repair  or  vacate  the  house. 
It  was  only  by  confronting  him  in  court,  to  which  he  had 
been  brought  on  a  fictitious  charge,  with  a  reporter,  that 
he  was  induced  to  take  any  steps  to  improve  his  tenement. 


21 

Now  everything  relating  to  the  public  health  is  so 
changed  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  realize  the  con- 
dition of  the  city  in  1866.  The  change  began  with  the 
very  organization  of  the  Metropolitan  Board.  Within  a 
few  days  of  that  event,  cholera,  which  had  devastated 
portions  of  Europe,  made  its  appearance  in  this  city ;  but 
it  met  with  a  far  different  reception  than  that  of  former 
visitations.  The  first  case  was  quarantined  within  an 
hour  of  its  occurrence  ;  the  clothing  of  the  patient  was 
destroyed,  the  room  disinfected,  and  a  sanitary  guard 
placed  over  the  house.  No  other  case  appeared  in  that 
quarter  of  the  city.  There  were  several  similar  outbreaks 
in  different  parts  of  the  town,  but  each  was  treated  with 
the  same  vigilance  and  energy,  and  the  result  was  that 
the  contagion  never  secured  a  foothold  in  the  city  or  the 
metropolitan  district.  Though  cholera  has  since  ap- 
peared in  Europe  at  its  usual  intervals,  and  has  several 
times  been  at  our  doors,  it  has  not  been  able  to  invade 
the  city  for  a  period  of  thirty-four  years.  Small-pox, 
which  once  decimated  the  child  population  every  five 
years,  has  not  been  epidemic  in  a  whole  generation. 
Diphtheria  and  the  whole  brood  of  domestic  pestilences 
are  diminishing  in  frequency  and  fatality.  Even  con- 
sumption, so  common  and  fatal  among  the  poor,  is  rap- 
idly disappearing  in  consequence  of  the  improved  condi- 
tion of  the  tenement  houses.  And  what  a  vast  change 
has  been  made  in  the  homes  of  the  poor  !  No  human 
habitation  is  underground  ;  the  ancient  rookery,  with  its 
five  hundred  inhabitants,  is  a  past  number  ;  the  dark, 
foul  courts  are  disappearing,  and  in  their  places  have 
arisen  the  modern  tenements,  with  their  light,  airy  and 


22 

cheerful  apartments,  and  all  the  conditions  necessary  to 
family  health  and  domestic  happiness.  The  laws  and 
ordinances  all  conspire  to  compel  the  landlords  to  remedy 
every  defect  on  complaint  of  the  tenant ;  the  penalty 
being  that  the  latter  need  not  pay  rent  until  his  home  is 
made  habitable  in  a  sanitary  sense.  The  vital  statistics 
show  that  human  life  is  lengthening  in  this  city,  and  that 
the  entire  metropolis  is  more  healthy  as  a  place  of  resi- 
dence than  the  surrounding  country  towns. 

But  the  beneficent  results  of  the  labors  of  Mr.  Eaton 
and  his  associates  in  the  field  of  sanitary  legislation  are 
not  confined  to  New  York.  As  he  predicted,  the  Metro- 
politan Health  Law  became  the  basis  of  sanitary  legisla- 
tion throughout  the  country.  At  the  time  of  its 
enactment  the  municipalities  of  the  United  States  were 
as  destitute  of  health  laws  and  regulations  as  the  City  of 
New  York.  To-day  there  is  not  a  city,  or  even  village, 
that  has  not  its  laws  and  ordinances  relating  to  the 
preservation  and  promotion  of  the  public  health  based  on 
the  original  law  drawn  by  Mr.  Baton.  And  the  same 
remark  is  true  of  the  organized  health  administration  of 
the  States  of  the  Union,  for  on  analysis  it  will  be  found 
that  their  sanitary  legislation  is  in  harmony  with  the 
provisions  of  that  law. 

At  that  period  the  old  Volunteer  Fire  Department  was 
quite  as  discreditable  to  the  city  as  was  its  health  organi- 
zation. Intrenched  in  the  political  organizations  of  the 
city,  it  wielded  a  power  second  only  to  that  of  the  great 
political  parties  themselves.  It  required  the  strength  and 
courage  of  a  Hercules  to  purify  this  department  by 
removing  the  existing  elements,  reconstructing  the  entire 


23 

organization,  substituting  a  paid  for  a  volunteer  mem- 
bership, and  requiring  a  high  grade  of  qualification  of  its 
officers.  But,  aided  by  the  Citizens'  Association,  Mr. 
Eaton  undertook  this  reform,  and  after  a  fierce  and  pro- 
longed struggle  carried  it  to  a  successful  conclusion.  The 
law  creating  the  Fire  Department,  like  that  creating  the 
Health  Department,  is  a  model  of  intelligent  discrimina- 
tion of  all  the  conditions  essential  to  the  efficiency  of  the 
service  and  its  permanent  freedom  from  the  vices  inher- 
ent in  the  old  system. 

Scarcely  had  these  reforms  been  perfected  when  Mr. 
Eaton's  attention  was  turned  by  the  Citizens'  Association 
to  the  necessity  of  having  a  department  in  the  city  gov- 
ernment devoted  exclusively  to  the  care  and  management 
of  the  public  docks,  wharves  and  other  water-front  inter- 
ests of  the  city.  This  movement  resulted  in  the  passage 
of  law  drawn  by  Mr.  Eaton  creating  the  Department  of 
Docks.  Though  this  department  was  to  occupy  an 
entirely  new  field  in  the  municipal  administration,  the 
law  shows  in  every  section  the  same  mastery  of  all  the 
details  peculiar  to  Mr.  Eaton's  legislative  work. 

Finally,  Mr.  Eaton  undertook,  single-handed,  to  reform 
the  police  judiciary.  He  prepared  a  bill  creating  the 
civil  magistrates  4:o  take  the  place  of  the  police  justices 
and  reforming  in  many  particulars  the  methods  of  pro- 
cedure. This  law  is  regarded  as  a  great  improvement 
upon  the  previous  police  judiciary,  but  the  bill  became  a 
law  only  after  a  protracted  struggle  with  the  old  police 
justices,  a  struggle  which  Mr.  Eaton  maintained  alone,  rely- 
ing upon  the  merits  of  the  measure  which  he  advocated. 
The  consensus  of  opinion  of  legal  authorities  is  that  the  new 


24 

law  effected  radical  reforms  of  great  importance  in  these 
inferior  courts  of  criminal  jurisprudence  in  New  York  City. 

If  we  may  estimate  Mr.  Eaton's  mental  traits  by  the 
laws  which  he  drafted  in  the  interests  of  municipal  reform 
we  can  readily  conclude  that  he  had  a  remarkable  genius 
for  constructive  legislation.  Though  he  was  compelled  to 
weave  into  the  very  woof  of  those  laws  extraordinary 
powers  which  he  acknowledged  were  of  vital  importance 
to  their  efficiency,  and  yet  would  be  a  menace  to  the 
public  if  the  laws  were  administered  by  unscrupulous 
persons,  he  succeeded  in  so  guarding  those  powers  that 
these  laws  have  been  in  operation  upwards  of  a  quarter 
of  a  century  ;  and,  while  those  who  have  from  time  to 
time  been  called  to  administer  them  have  not  always  had 
the  best  reputation  for  intelligence  and  civic  virtue,  yet 
there  has  at  no  time  been  any  complaint  of  injustice  in 
their  execution,  nor  has  there  been  any  serious  lapse  in 
their  vigorous  enforcement.  To-day,  as  a  generation 
ago,  they  are  accomplishing  the  full  measure  of  usefulness 
for  which  they  were  designed  by  their  author. 

Standing  now  at  the  close  of  a  life  so  largely  devoted 
to  the  service  of  his  fellow-men  and  consecrated  to  the 
amelioration  of  human  suffering,  and  where  we  may,  in 
some  slight  degree,  estimate  the  vast  and  ever-increasing 
fruition  of  its  labors,  how  sublime  it  appears  !  Monu- 
ments and  memorials  can  but  faintly  symbolize  its  great- 
ness and  perpetuate  its  enduring  force.  Mr.  Eaton's  own 
thought  of  true  fame  once  was  expressed  to  me  thus  : 
' '  I  ask  only  to  be  remembered  as  one  who  in  his  sphere 
of  life's  duties  endeavored  to  improve  the  conditions  of 
human  life  around  him." 


Hfcfcress  bp  IHon.  Carl  5cbur3. 

That  man  is  indeed  to  be  envied  who,  at  the  end  of  his 
life,  ma}'  truthfully  say  to  himself  that  his  days  have  been 
useful  to  his  fellow-beings ;  and  no  one  who  knows  the 
career  of  our  departed  friend,  Mr.  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  will 
deny  that  he  was  fully  entitled  to  that  happiness.  I  have 
been  honored  with  the  request  that  I  should  speak  a  few 
words  of  the  service  he  rendered  to  the  cause  of  Civil 
Service  Reform.  I  suppose  I  owe  that  honor  to  the  fact 
that  I  am  the  President  of  the  Civil  Service  Reform  Asso- 
ciation of  New  York  and  of  the  National  Civil  Service 
Reform  League.  With  that  quiet,  unostentatious  courage 
that  characterized  him,  Mr.  Eaton  gave  himself  to  that 
cause  at  a  time  when  the  idea  that  the  offices  of  the  Gov- 
ernment were  the  legitimate  price  and  spoil  of  political 
party  warfare  seemed  so  deeply  embedded  in  the  minds, 
not  only  of  politicians,  but  of  the  whole  American  people, 
that  any  design  to  upset  it,  or  even  seriously  to  question 
it,  was  apt  to  be  regarded  as  no  less  foolish,  and  no  less 
hopeless,  than  an  attempt  to  swim  against  the  current  ol 
Niagara.  The  early  Civil  Service  Reformers  were  looked 
upon,  not  only  by  active  politicians,  but  by  the  public 
generally,  as  a  very  amiable,  gentle  and  inoffensive  set  of 
persons,  who  were  infatuated  with  a  fine-spun  theory  too 
good  for  this  world,  the  practical  introduction  of  which  in 
our  political  life  was  entirely  out  of  the  question,  and 
might,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  an  absolutely  negligible 
quantity  in  the  actual  issues  of  politics. 


26 

To  be  laughed  at  is  certainly  a  sore  trial  to  any  man  of 
self-respect,  and  to  expose  one's  self  to  ridicule  in  working 
for  the  public  good  requires  a  large  measure  of  civic 
heroism.  Mr.  Baton  was  one  of  the  first  so  to  defy  the 
ridicule  of  his  countrymen.  The  Civil  Service  Reformers 
of  that  early  day  quietly,  but  persistently  and  faithfully, 
endeavored  to  indoctrinate  the  country  with  their  belief, 
and  they  had  the  satisfaction  of  gradually  convincing  a 
constantly-growing  circle  of  their  fellow- citizens  not  only 
that  the  spoils  system  was  a  great  evil,  lying  at  the  bot- 
tom of  most  of  the  incompetency  and  wastefulness  of  our 
public  service,  and  being  the  source  of  much  of  the 
demoralizing  influences  which  endangered  the  very  life 
of  our  democratic  institutions,  but  that  they,  the  Civil 
Service  Reformers,  could  also  point  out  a  remedy  which 
would  not  only  be  practicable,  but  also  promised  to  be  in 
a  high  degree  efficient. 

About  the  time  of  the  first  administration  of  General 
Grant  the  Civil  Service  Reformers  had  made  a  sufficient 
impression  upon  the  public  opinion  of  the  country  to 
induce  the  President  to  consider  that  moment  opportune 
for  an  actual  experiment  of  the  Merit  System  in  the 
public  service  of  the  country.  He  called  to  his  aid  an 
Advisory  Board,  in  which  our  dear  and  lamented  friend 
and  leader,  Mr.  George  William  Curtis,  took  a  leading 
part.  But  no  sooner  was  that  first  attempt  inaugurated 
than  the  politicians  of  the  country  saw  what  the  success 
of  that  experiment  would  cost  them  in  the  loss  of  that 
time-honored  prerogative  of  distributing  the  patronage 
which  they  considered  their  own,  and  they  made  up  their 
minds   that  the  experiment  should  not  succeed  if   they 


27 

could  prevent  its  success.  Mr.  Curtis  soon  had  very 
serious  disagreements  with  the  President  about  various 
matters.  He  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Executive 
would  not  be  steadfast  enough  to  prevent  a  reaction,  and 
laid  down  his  position  in  the  Advisory  Board.  Mr.  Dor- 
man  B.  Eaton  was  called  to  fill  his  place,  and  he  undertook 
the  forlorn  hope  with  that  courage  and  devotion  charac- 
teristic of  him.  But  it  soon  turned  out  that  Mr.  Curtis' 
foresight  had  been  correct.  When  Congress  refused  to 
make  the  appropriation  necessary  for  the  sustenance  of 
the  Merit  System  in  the  public  service  the  President  at 
once  decided  that  he  could  not  prevail  against  that  opposi- 
tion, and  that  he  would  abandon  the  experiment.  Thus 
the  Advisory  Board,  of  which  Mr.  Eaton  was  a  member, 
had  nothing  further  to  do.  But,  with  the  advent  of 
General  Hayes  to  the  Presidency,  the  attitude  of  the 
Executive  toward  Civil  Service  Reform  became  one  of 
warm  friendship,  and  it  was  then  that  the  eminently 
useful  career  of  Mr.  Eaton  as  a  Civil  Service  Reformer 
began.  At  his  suggestion,  and,  it  may  be  added,  at  his 
personal  expense,  he  was  sent  to  England  for  the  purpose 
of  studying  the  origin,  working  and  the  success  of  the 
Merit  System  in  that  field  upon  which  it  had  been  most 
extensively  applied,  and  the  result  was  a  report  in  the 
form  of  a  book,  which  may  well  be  called  the  most 
valuable  contribution  to  the  literature  of  Civil  Service 
Reform  made  in  this  country  by  any  man.  But  still 
Congress  continued  to  refuse  the  appropriation. 

In  1882  came  one  of  those  sudden  upheavals  in  political 
life,  which,  as  we  know,  are  sometimes  apt  to  frighten 
politicians   into   spasms   of   virtue,    and   which,   in   this 


28 

instance,  received  through  the  assassination  of  President 
Garfield  a  peculiar  significance.  All  of  a  sudden  the 
politicians  yielded  to  the  demand  for  Civil  Service  Reform. 
They  saw  in  it  something  like  an  anchor  of  safety.  The 
time  had  arrived  for  legislation,  and  then  came  into  play 
Mr.  Baton's  remarkable  constructive  capacity.  Several 
bills  had  been  drawn  up  by  various  Members  of  Congress, 
but  after  consultation  a  draft  made  by  Mr.  Eaton  proved 
so  far  superior  to  all  others  that  it  was  adopted  by  all ; 
and  this  was  the  origin  of  that  celebrated  Pendleton  Act, 
which  in  its  essential  features  is  the  Civil  Service  Law  of 
this  country  to  the  present  day,  and  which  was  really 
Mr.  Eaton's  work.  The  Civil  Service  Law  of  the  State 
of  New  York  was  likewise  drawn  up  by  him  ;  and  it  may 
be  said  that  all  the  civil  service  legislation  we  have  in 
this  country  was  upon  lines  laid  down  by  Mr.  Eaton, 
with  such  variations  as  local  requirements  demand. 
Dorman  B.  Eaton  may  therefore  well  be  called  the  legis- 
lative architect  of  the  reformed  Civil  Service  in  the 
Republic  of  the  United  States. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  as  a  member,  and  temporarily 
as  the  head,  of  the  National  Civil  Service  Commission, 
Mr.  Eaton  performed  his  official  duties  with  the  constancy, 
the  devotion  and  that  conservative  spirit  which  was 
peculiar  to  his  mind.  When  his  official  service  ceased, 
he  devoted  himself  to  the  work  which  was  mapped  out, 
and  in  great  measure  prosecuted,  by  the  Civil  Service  Asso- 
ciation of  this  city  and  of  the  National  Civil  Service  Reform 
League,  which  he  had  himself  helped  to  create ;  and  he 
constantly  added  to  the  literature  of  Civil  Service  Reform 
for  the  enlightenment  of  the  public  opinion  of  the  country. 


29 

I  speak  for  these  associations  when  I  say  that  the  work 
he  has  done  for  them,  and  through  them  for  the  public 
interest  of  the  United  States,  was  made  especially  valu- 
able by  the  largeness  of  his  knowledge,  the  vastness  of 
his  experience,  and  the  wisdom  of  his  council.  But, 
above  all  things,  we  should  not  fail  to  remember  the 
spirit  in  which  these  services  were  rendered.  I  can  affirm 
that  in  all  the  experience  of  my  long  life  I  never  met  a 
man  whose  public  efforts  were  more  free  from  selfish 
motive.  He  was  not  one  of  those  who  are  tortured 
by  a  constant  anxiety  as  to  whether  they  will  get 
public  credit  enough  for  that  which  they  do  for  the 
common  weal.  He  never  asked  himself  whether  his 
name  would  be  sufficiently  mentioned  in  the  newspapers. 
He  would  always,  with  unflagging  zeal,  do  the  task 
that  fell  to  his  lot,  inquiring  not  how  he  could  make 
himself  most  conspicuous,  but  how  he  could  make 
himself  most  useful.  He  may  have  considered  himself 
entitled,  by  his  experience  and  the  great  service  which 
he  had  rendered,  to  some  authority  among  the  associ- 
ates with  whom  he  worked.  He  was  indeed  entitled 
to  that ;  but  I  am  sure  that  I  speak  for  all  these  asso- 
ciates when  I  say  that  in  our  discussions,  which,  as  is 
usual  with  the  discussions  of  reformers,  were  not  with- 
out a  certain  liveliness  of  temper  and  a  certain  tenacity 
of  argument,  no  man  could  have  borne  himself  with 
greater  dignity  or  with  more  kindly  tolerance  of  adverse 
opinions.  And  so  we  cherish  in  our  hearts  for  him,  not 
only  the  profoundest  respect  and  gratitude,  but  also  the 
warmest  affection.  Thus  he  stands  in  our  memories  and 
in   the   memories  of  all  who  have  known  him,  or  who 


So 

know  of  him,  as  a  true  model  of  the  American  citizen — 
eminent,  very  eminent,  by  his  superior  capability  and 
acquirements,  by  his  singularly  disinterested  public  spirit, 
by  his  efficient  efforts  for  the  public  good,  and  by  the 
high  degree  of  usefulness  which  he  attained  among  his 
fellow-citizens.  Let  us  hope  that  the  results  of  that  use- 
fulness be  as  enduring  as  they  certainly  will  never  cease 
to  reflect  the  highest  honor  upon  his  name. 


Egress  bs  ZlDr*  Jobn  Marsen  IRboafces. 

President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Church  of  All  Soils. 

No  nation  has  achieved  and  maintained  lasting  great- 
ness which  has  not  been  builded  upon  foundations  cre- 
ated by  those  who  have  recognized  that  obedience  to  the 
moral  laws  which  govern  the  universe  must  be  welded 
into  the  State,  and  who,  forgetful  of  self  and  inspired  by 
unselfish  love  for  their  fellow-men,  have  given  their  lives 
to  public  service  for  the  public  good.  And  it  is  for  rea- 
sons such  as  these  that  we  are  here  to-day  to  do  honor 
to  the  memory  of  our  friend,  and  to  set  the  seal  of  our 
commendation  upon  the  record  of  his  life. 

Others,  far  better  fitted  for  the  task,  will  tell  the  story 
of  the  public  service  Dorman  B.  Eaton  has  rendered  to 
the  nation.  It  is  for  me  to  speak  of  what  he  has  done 
for  this  church  in  which  he  worshipped  for  forty  years, 
and  for  the  cause  of  Unitarian  Christianity  which  he 
held  most  dear. 

Many  years  ago  I  was  told  by  his  partner  and  friend 
the  story  how,  when  engaged  in  a  contest  to  wrest  the 
control  of  a  great  corporation  from  the  hands  of  those 
who  had  proved  unworthy  of  the  trust  confided  in  them, 
he  received  many  threatening  letters  of  a  character  to 
alarm  his  friends,  who  begged  him  to  withdraw,  saying 
that  he  was  powerless  in  the  hands  of  those  who  had 
threatened  his  life,  but  his  only  reply  was  :  "  I  cannot ; 
I  have  my  duty  to  perform  and  I  will  perform  it."  And 
after  the  (threatened)  blow  fell  with  the  attempt  upon 


32 

his  life,  he  still  remained  the  same  undaunted,  coura- 
geous man,  always  resolved  that,  come  weal  or  woe,  when 
duty  called  he  would  obey. 

Of  great  force  of  character,  self-reliant,  kind  and  cour- 
teous, earnest  and  loyal,  solid  and  old-fashioned,  given 
to  deep  thought  and  plain  living,  simple  in  taste,  dislik- 
ing show  and  ostentation,  throwing  his  soul  into  all  that 
he  did  when  once  convinced  that  what  he  was  about  to 
do  was  right  and  true — such  was  his  character  as  seen 
by  those  who  knew  him  best. 

His  religion  was  to  him  not  only  a  name  and  a  pro- 
fession of  faith,  but  a  living,  vital  force,  which  filled  his 
nature  to  the  full,  and  guided  him  in  all  things  which  he 
professed  and  performed.  Faith  in  God,  faith  in  immor- 
tality and  trust  in  his  fellow-man — these  cardinal  prin- 
ciples of  our  religion  were  to  him  both  meat  and  drink  ; 
and  upon  the  broad  platform  of  the  Unitarian  Church  he 
stood  a  champion  for  the  cause,  a  leader  in  the  ranks. 

To  this  church  he  was  a  tower  of  strength.  Did  it 
prosper,  he  rejoiced.  Did  it  need  his  help,  he  gave  with 
free  and  loving  hand.  Was  it  discouraged,  he  spoke 
words  of  hope  and  cheer.  Did  it  falter  in  its  task,  he 
spurred  it  on  to  renewed  effort.  Was  he  told  that  the 
fires  burned  low  upon  the  altars  of  his  faith,  he  stirred 
the  embers,  and  pointed  to  the  beacon  lights  burning 
brightly  all  around  him,  which  marked  the  progress  of 
the  race  upward  and  onward  to  nobler  conceptions  of 
duty,  a  clearer  insight  into  the  workings  of  a  Divine 
Providence,  and  a  better  knowledge  of  the  destiny  of 
man  and  the  relations  the  human  soul  holds  to  the  all- 
wise  Creator  Who  gave  it  life. 


33 

And  so,  through  long  and  pleasant  years,  this  reserved, 
self-possessed  man  has  moved  in  our  midst,  and  given  of 
his  strength  for  our  welfare  and  our  need ;  and  now,  in 
the  hour  of  the  leaving,  let  us  hope  that  as  the  grass, 
sweet  emblem  of  returning  life,  will,  year  by  year,  grow 
green  upon  the  sod  which  covers  his  grave,  so  may  his 
memory  abide  with  us,  and  the  truths  he  taught  be  woven 
into  the  web  and  woof  of  our  lives,  for,  as  Chadwick 
sweetly  sings : 

"It  singeth  low  in  every  heart, 

We  hear  it,  each  and  all, 
The  voice  of  those  who  answer  not, 

However  we  may  call ; 
They  throng  the  silence  of  the  breast, 

We  see  them  as  of  yore, 
The  kind,  the  true,  the  brave,  the  sweet, 

Who  walk  with  us  no  more. 

'"Tis  hard  to  take  the  burden  up 

When  these  have  laid  it  down ; 
They  brightened  all  the  joys  of  life, 

They  softened  every  frown. 
But  oh  !  'tis  good  to  think  of  them 

When  we  are  troubled  sore ; 
Thanks  be  to  God  that  such  have  been, 

Although  they  are  no  more  !  " 

' ' '  May  God  continue  this,  the  First  Congregational 
Church,  long  after  he  has  laid  us  all  beneath  the  sod  ! ' 
That  would  be  almost  my  last  prayer  were  I  dying  ;  and 
I  pray  you,  if  you  have  any  love  for  me  or  my  memory, 
when  I  am  gone,  to  show  it  by  your  devotion  to  the 
church  and  the  cause  to  which  I  have  so  happily  and 
gratefully,  however  feebly,  devoted  my  life.  " 


34 

Such  were  the  words  which,  at  the  close  of  forty  years 
of  ministry  in  this  pulpit,  and  but  a  few  years  before  his 
death,  fell  from  the  lips  of  Dr.  Bellows,  and  which,  in  the 
heart  of  our  friend,  found  their  true  echo  and  a  perma- 
nent abiding  place ;  and,  could  he  speak  to  us,  such 
would  be  his  parting  injunction  to  us  now — his  dying 
wish  to  those  who,  within  these  walls,  with  him  have 
found  spiritual  rest  and  peace  and  comfort  and  inspira- 
tion for  daily  life. 

"  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord." 


Hfcfcress  bs  1Rex>.  Ubomas  1R.  Slicer. 

Pastor  of  the  Church  of  All  Souls. 

The  pastors  of  this  church  have  been  blessed  by  the 
friendship  of  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  and  by  that  finest  form  of 
loyalty  to  their  service,  not  found  in  personal  affection 
alone,  but  in  loving  the  things  that  they  loved.  No  one 
who  serves  in  the  dignity  of  the  ministry  cares  so  much 
for  affection  directed  toward  himself,  as  that  he  and  those 
to  whom  he  ministers  shall  meet  in  one  common  object, 
and  labor  for  one  common  end. 

Dorman  B.  Eaton  has  been  described  by  the  last  speaker 
most  aptly  as  a  force  and  an  inspiring  instrument  of 
usefulness  in  this  church.  He  was  more  than  that  to  me  ; 
for  although  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  counted  among 
his  friends,  and  he  was  for  years  before  my  coming  into 
the  pastorate  of  this  church  my  personal  friend,  and  I 
believe  my  well-wisher  in  the  ministry,  yet  I  was  always 
conscious  when  speaking  to  Mr.  Eaton  that  his  eye  was 
looking  above  my  head,  and  that  the  direction  of  his 
thought  was  on  things  higher,  and  not  on  me.  He  had 
the  rare  gift  of  giving  you  his  whole  attention,  and  the 
distinguished  excellence  in  converse  of  making  you 
feel  that  what  you  were  saying  was  of  importance  to 
him.  I  have  over  and  over  again  gone  from  his  presence 
with  a  sort  of  abashed  feeling  that  I  should  have 
taken  his  time,  or  attempted  to  engage  his  attention  ; 
and  yet  it  arose  not  so  much  out  of  the  sense  of  my  own 
unworth   as   out  of  the   sense   of  his   distinction.     But 


36 

whatever  the  subject  that  might  engage  our  conversa- 
tion— whether  some  high  civic  ideal  or  some  necessary 
civic  duty,  or  some  most  unpleasant  civic  severity,  or 
whether  it  were  the  value  of  the  church  itself  or  that  high 
faith  which  we  hold  and  which  he  adorned,  which  has 
been  often  described,  not  as  a  body  of  doctrine,  but  as  a 
way  of  looking  at  life  and  a  method  of  living — always 
there  was  the  impression  that,  however  well  he  lived,  he 
could  not  do  without  the  church  ;  but  I  think  he  did  not 
really  need  it.  He  had  deliberately  made  the  contribu- 
tion of  himself  to  the  sendee  of  religion,  not  only  in  its 
great  ideals,  but  in  its  painstaking  details  of  loyalty  and 
fidelity.  The  small  fidelities  which  come  of  constant 
attendance  upon  the  service  of  religion  were  not  too  little 
for  his  regard.  I  was  as  sure  to  see  him  sitting  yonder 
as  I  rose  to  preach  as  the  men  who  preceded  me  had  seen 
him  during  forty  years — my  predecessors,  Mr.  Williams, 
and  that  great  servant  of  God,  Dr.  Bellows,  for  forty - 
three  years  of  his  ministry  the  pastor  of  this  church.  I 
was  sure  to  see  Mr.  Eaton  sitting  yonder  with  the  calm 
intelligence  of  his  face  as  I  rose  to  speak,  and  I  was  sure 
that,  however  unkindled  his  face  might  be  by  any  appeal 
that  I  might  make,  it  was  because  his  thoughts  had 
covered  with  the  canopy  of  their  intervention  the  glowing 
expression  of  divine  enthusiasm  and  sacred  affection 
for  things  religious.  He  was  a  calm  man,  a  deliberate 
man  ;  but  afterward,  in  any  review  of  what  had  been 
said — never,  I  am  thankful  to  say,  in  any  critical  spirit, 
nor,  also,  I  am  thankful  to  say,  in  any  spirit  of  praise  or 
adulation — I  was  aware  that  the  best  thing  I  had  to  say 
was  heard  with   an   attention  that  lifted  it  to  a  higher 


37 

plane,  and  the  simplest  thing  was  heard  with  an  attention 
that  gave  to  it  an  added  weight,  even  in  my  own  regard. 
I  want  to  speak  very  simply  for  a  moment  upon  the 
attitude  of  Mr.  Eaton  to  the  church  itself.  He  was  not 
only  an  earnest  and  devoted  member  of  the  denomination 
represented  by  this  church,  but  he  also  contributed  of  his 
wisdom  and  counsel  to  the  organization  of  the  National 
Conference,  which  in  1865  marked  a  real  departure  from 
our  isolated  loneliness  as  churches  to  our  organized  work 
as  a  denomination — a  movement  in  which  Doctor  Bellows 
led,  with  Mr.  Eaton  beside  him,  in  a  time  that  was  peril- 
ous ;  for  it  was  a  difficult  thing  to  enter  upon  any  discus- 
sion of  things  that  touched  men  deeply,  following  that 
acute  irritation  that  had  been  caused  by  the  civil  strife 
which  had  torn  the  country  asunder  four  years  before. 
Not  only  was  this  true,  but  the  individual  church — this 
church — seemed  to  him  necessary  to  the  health  of  the 
community.  What  he  did  in  devising  laws  for  the 
health  of  the  city— what  he  did  in  providing  methods, 
wise  in  counsel,  nervous  in  action  and  stern  in  their  un- 
relenting devotion  in  moral  rectitude  and  righteousness 
in  matters  civic — he  no  less  exemplified,  not  simply  in  his 
personal  religion,  but  in  his  belief  in  the  inviolable  sanc- 
tity of  the  church  idea.  He  did  not,  as  some  of  us  say  : 
' '  We  are  of  the  oldest  church  ;  we  are  of  the  most  rational 
form  of  faith,  that  turns  away  from  authority  and  tradi- 
tion in  order  that  it  may  rest  the  soul  in  God,  its  final 
experience."  He  believed,  as  I  believe,  that  the  com- 
munity depends  upon  the  church,  and  he  urged  me  a 
year  ago,  on  lines  that  he  outlined  to  me  in  his  study, 
with  a  fervor  and  glow  of  enthusiasm  that  kindled  him 


in  unwonted  degree  in  the  recital,  to  preach  a  course  of 
sermons  in  which  I  should  declare  for  the  unabated  and 
undimmed  necessity  of  the  Christian  Church  in  a  city 
like  this.  This  was  not  to  him  a  mere  vision  on  which 
he  brooded  when  alone,  and  sought  to  quicken  to  new 
enthusiasm  a  minister  his  junior  in  years,  but  the  deepest 
conviction  of  his  life :  that  the  church,  not  as  an  ecclesias- 
tical profession  simply — not  as  perpetuating  the  historic 
continuity  of  great  ideals — but  as  the  saving  instrument 
of  society,  deserves  its  place,  and  deserves  the  attention 
which  was  given  to  it  by  men  like  himself. 

I  could  have  been  quite  content  not  to  have  found 
Dorman  B.  Eaton  in  a  church — quite  content  to  have 
said  of  him  that  his  moral  passion  was  enough  to  inscribe 
the  moral  law  upon  the  fleshly  tables  of  his  heart ;  but 
when  in  addition  to  that  he  was  willing  to  give  himself 
to  the  work  of  the  denomination  in  which  his  service  was 
rendered,  and  to  the  individual  church  in  which  he 
served,  he  exhibited,  in  my  judgment,  that  fine  example 
of  a  man  who  does  not  need  individually  the  reassurance 
of  religion  that  the  church  provides,  but  who  deliberately 
contributes  his  reassurance  to  weaker  men  that  the 
church  is  the  instrument  at  once  of  their  instruction, 
their  consolation  and  their  inspiration.  It  is  a  splendid 
thing  for  a  strong  man  to  give  himself  without  need, 
where  weak  men  need  to  give  themselves. 

I  was  very  much  struck,  in  my  intercourse  with  Mr. 
Eaton,  with  the  entire  absence  in  him  of  any  mock 
enthusiasm  and  of  easily-kindled  emotions,  because  I 
found  there  a  better  thing.  In  our  view  of  religion, 
emotion  is  the  flower  which  a  deep-set  root  bears ;  it  is 


39 

not  the  thing  itself,  it  is  the  bloom  of  the  thing  itself ; 
and,  when  he  rose  to  the  point  of  emotional  interest  over 
things  divine,  it  was  as  surprising  as  that  out  of  the 
brown  soil  of  the  early  spring  the  flush  of  color  of  the 
tulip  sends  its  flame.  I  found  in  him  this  better  thing 
than  easily-kindled  emotion — steady-moving  thoughts 
and  deep-rooted  convictions,  and  holy  aspirations.  The 
incense  of  his  sacrifice  never  dimmed  the  heaven  into 
which  he  prayed  ;  and  the  depth  of  his  conviction  held 
him  fast,  whoever  may  swing  at  anchor  or  break  their 
chain. 

I  am  personally  bereaved  not  to  have  him  here.  I  am 
reminded  of  those  splendid  words  of  Seneca:  "It  is  an 
ill  construction  of  Providence  to  grieve  more  that  my 
friend  is  taken  away  than  to  rejoice  that  I  have  had  him. 
The  past  we  are  sure  of;  it  is  impossible  to  make  it  not 
to  have  been."  And  those  words,  nearer  our  own  time, 
of  Herbert  Spencer,  seem  to  fit  his  tone  and  temper  better 
than  any  others  that  come  to  me  (those  of  Seneca  for 
myself  and  those  of  Spencer  for  him)  :  "  Not  as  adventi- 
tious will  the  good  man  think  the  faith  that  is  in  him. 
The  thing  he  sees  clearly  he  will  fearlessly  utter,  being 
sure  that  in  doing  this  he  is  playing  his  right  part  in  the 
world.  If  he  can  achieve  the  end  he  aims  at,  well ;  if 
not,  well  also,  but  not  so  well." 

The  gentlemen  of  the  Bar  Association  who  are  here 
know  what  he  did  for  their  association  by  his  association 
with  them.  You  have  heard  from  Mr.  Rhoades  of  the 
feeling  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Administrative  Board  of  this 
church  concerning  his  service  and  the  loss  that  they  have 
sustained.     You  have  heard  from  Mr.   Schurz  how  he 


40 

lived  to  see,  together  with  men  who  worked  with  him, 
the  triumph  of  Civil  Service  Reform — that  quixotic  idea 
of  the  good  become  the  fear  of  the  evil ;  and  from  Doctor 
Smith  we  have  heard  how,  thirty-five  years  ago,  he 
wrought  for  the  city's  health,  removing  the  conditions 
which  were  the  impediment  of  its  moral  sanity.  And 
now  I  have  said  these  few  words  because  the  church  sor- 
rows for  his  loss.  That  strange  thing  has  happened  to 
us — that  we  are  divided  to  know  whether  we  must  sorrow 
that  he  is  not  or  that  we  are  most  glad  that  he  has  been  ; 
for  the  sense  of  our  loss  is  held,  together  with  the  treas- 
ure of  our  devotion  to  his  memory.  This  place  is  sacred 
because  of  his  fidelities,  and  we  go  our  way  with  firmer 
foot  because  we  worked  with  him  and  walked  with  him 
the  ways  of  life. 


Sermon 


DELIVERED   IN 


Brattleboro,   Vermont, 

SUNDAY   MORNING,  JANUARY   28,    1900, 


BY 


REV.  EDMUND  Q.  S.  OSGOOD. 


4* 


Micah,  vi:8.  "What  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee  but  to  do 
justly,  and  to  love  mercy  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God." 

This  lesson  is  a  broad  one ;  at  the  same  time  intensely 
practical  and  addressed  to  each  individual  soul. 

The  prophet  bids  us  to  be  just,  merciful,  humble. 
1  *  Rend  your  heart  and  not  your  garment ' '  is  the  burden 
of  his  message. 

Outward  worship  is  nothing ;  sacrifice  is  nothing ;  even 
prayer  is  nothing,  if  the  life  itself  be  not  a  worthy  gift. 
Let  each  character  be  moulded  in  harmony  with  what  is 
divinely  just ;  let  it  be  enriched  by  a  true  and  thoughtful 
mercy ;  let  it  be  clothed  upon  by  that  humility  which 
ennobles  even  kings  to  wear — these  with  all  forms  simply 
beautify  and  make  more  perfect  the  life. 

We  will  take  up  now  these  qualities,  one  after  another, 
and  notice  the  special  significance  of  each  : 

I.  To  be  just  is  to  render  to  everything  its  due.  But 
justice  is  a  very  comprehensive  term.  It  includes  God 
and  man  and  self  in  its  sweep.  Let  us  touch  upon  these 
objects  of  justice* briefly  in  turn. 

In  our  thoughts  we  are  constantly  thanking  the  Supreme 
Power  for  the  blessings  we  enjoy.  Our  words,  when  we 
address  each  other,  not  seldom  bear  witness  to  this  grate- 
ful instinct.  As  we  say  "Good  morni?ig"  or  "Good 
evening" — heartily  and  sincerely — being  impressed  by 
the  fresh  gladness  of  the  hour,  we  are,  though  we  think 
it  not,  praising  the  Heavenly  Father  for  his  gifts.  Our 
prayerful  aspirations  betray  how  dependent  are  the  lives 


43 

we  lead  upon  this  high  source.  Laden  are  they  with 
tender  gratitude  because  of  strength  given  to  resist  evil, 
or  to  find  consolation  in  sorrow. 

Yet,  were  we  to  ask  ourselves  if,  having  entertained 
thoughts  of  gratitude,  having  spoken  words  of  thank- 
fulness, having  poured  forth  our  souls  in  fervent 
prayer,  we  are  thereby  absolved  from  further  duties  as 
regards  this  Almighty  Being,  we  at  once  answer  in  the 
negative.  No  ;  we  shall  not,  if  we  stop  here,  be  "  doing 
justly ' '  by  the  all-loving  power  so  far  beyond  and  above 
ourselves.  Not  only  our  thoughts  and  our  words,  but 
our  deeds  as  well,  must  be  made  fair  and  beautiful  for  the 
Father's  sight.  To  be  just  toward  him  and  to  render 
unto  him  that  which  is  wholly  due,  into  our  faltering 
human  lives  must  the  divine  life  flow,  putting  strength 
in  the  place  of  weakness,  a  grand  uplifting  faith  in  the 
place  of  doubt  and  despair,  and  courageous  hope  in  the 
place  of  that  foreboding  sorrow  which  so  often  shrouds  in 
darkness  the  soul ! 

But  justice  to  man  and  justice  to  self  follow  materially 
this  justice  toward  God.  Indeed,  they  are  included  in  it. 
For  no  one  is  "doing  justly"  by  this  omniscient  pres- 
ence if  he  is  constantly  committing  acts  of  unrighteous- 
ness which  affect  human  kind. 

Justice  requires  that  we  should  pay  our  debts ;  that  we 
should  not  think  ill  of  people  or  speak  ill  of  them  with- 
out absolute  cause  and  for  the  furtherance  of  some  good 
end.  The  life  must  be  examined  from  every  point  of 
view.  These  may  be  glaring  faults  on  this  nearer  side, 
but  elsewhere  tokens  of  a  character  such  as  can  only  win 
our  reverence  and  esteem.       Patience   and   forbearance 


44 

should  enter  into  every  judgment  of  ours.  Above  all, 
should  we  never  forget  that  in  each  soul  glows  a  spark  of 
the  divine  fire — frequently  covered  deep  with  ashes, 
doubtless,  and  not  imparting  to  the  spirit  within  the 
fervor  it  should  ;  yet  never  wholly  lacking  these  ! 

Again,  to  be  just  to  self  is  to  render  to  self  what  is  due. 
Sometimes  I  think  we  forget  the  significance  of  this. 
Wishing  to  throw  every  atom  of  zeal  and  strength  into 
some  great  task  or  into  the  advancement  of  some  cause 
very  dear  to  our  hearts,  we  overestimate  the  amount 
that  can  safely  be  accomplished  at  our  hands.  The  best 
of  people  are  wont  to  fail  here.  While  ever  quick  to 
accord  strict  justice  to  others,  they  will  not  to  themselves. 
They  do  not  reflect  that  their  lives  may  prove  of  double 
worth  to  those  around  them  if  these  lives  are  rightly 
cared  for — if  they  receive  a  portion  of  that  attention  so 
gladly  bestowed  upon  other  objects. 

Then,  too,  we  ought  to  regard  with  strict  justice  our 
own  shortcomings  and  apparent  failures.  Possibly  we 
are  prone  to  err  because  of  being  too  lenient  toward  them. 
This  frequently  happens,  no  doubt.  But  it  is  a  simple 
act  of  injustice,  whether  inflicted  by  another's  will  or  our 
own — this  magnifying  of  the  harm  committed  ;  this  con- 
stantly dwelling  upon  it  until  it  appears  a  thousand  times 
blacker  than  it  really  is.  Having  once  made  the  mistake 
or  done  the  wrong,  the  only  wise  thing  to  do  is  to  try 
to  repair  the  evil,  and  to  have  the  life  in  all  coming  time 
the  purer  and  the  holier  in  contrast.  In  the  courageous 
and  hopeful  spirit  of  the  Apostle  :  "  Forgetting  those 
things  which  are  behind,  we  should  press  forward  towards 
those  things  which  are  before  ! ' ' 


45 

II.  The  prophet's  words,  however,  are  not  confined 
to  this  element  of  justice  alone.  "  What  doth  the  Lord 
require  of  thee,"  he  adds,  "  but  to  love  mercy  and  to  walk 
humbly  with  thy  God  ?  ' ' 

Be  merciful!  It  is  not  strange  that  by  the  side  of  jus- 
tice this  second  virtue  should  be  placed.  The  two  quali- 
ties are  both  needed  to  make  up  the  perfect  man.  Justice 
should  never  be  false  to  its  high  mission — should  not 
swerve  or  falter  for  an  instant  when  a  plain  question  of 
right  and  wrong  is  at  stake.  Nevertheless,  its  decrees 
need  not  be  carried  out  in  a  needlessly  harsh  and  forbid- 
ding fashion. 

We  all  know  in  what  different  ways  a  severe  yet  right- 
eous act  may  be  performed.  How,  by  one  person,  the 
object  of  it  all  is  crushed  and  embittered  to  his  heart's 
core  by  the  relentless,  unforgiving  spirit  so  clearly  mani- 
fest ;  and  how,  by  another,  with  precisely  the  same  cause 
for  grievance,  the  erring  one  is  shown  his  wrong,  it  is 
true,  and  is  obliged  to  make  swift  reparation,  yet  is 
treated  in  such  a  forbearing  and  gracious  manner  that  he 
is  able  to  feel  still  that  there  is  a  chance  for  him  to  rise 
from  his  shame  and  to  prove  himself  entitled  to  love  and 
respect  and  confidence  once  more. 

In  the  one  case  we  see  displayed  that  which,  in  the 
narrowest  use  of  the  term,  is  called  "justice."  In  the 
latter  is  there  justice  and  something  in  addition— justice 
tempered  and  exalted  by  mercy  that  is  not  only  mortal, 
but  divine  ! 

Let  the  Master's  voice  be  heard  and  paid  heed  to, 
which  bids  the  unforgiving  and  revengeful  one  "to  do 
unto  others  as  he  would  have  others  do  unto  himself" — 


46 

to  love  his  enemies  ;  to  do  good  to  them  that  hate  him  ; 
to  pray  for  them  that  despitefully  use  and  persecute  him — 
that  he  may  be  the  child  of  his  Father  who  is  in  Heaven." 

Nay — 

"The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strained  : 
It  droppeth,  as  the  gentle  rain  from  Heaven, 
Upon  the  place  beneath.     It  is  twice  blessed  : 
It  blesseth  him  that  gives  and  him  that  takes." 

III.  But,  apart  from  the  practice  of  justice  or  mercy, 
must  we  "  walk  humbly  "  with  our  God?  Something  is 
indicated  here  of  a  richer  and  more  enduring  value  than 
what  is  termed  modesty  or  humility  in  common  speech. 
It  is  not  repression  of  self  in  the  presence  of  others,  nor 
the  guarded,  carefully-chosen  word,  nor  the  unobtrusive 
act,  that  in  this  place  is  to  be  taken  especially  to  heart. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  humbleness  shown  not  so  much 
by  the  outward  sign  as  by  the  state  of  the  inner  life 
itself.  A  bending  is  it  of  the  human  nature  before  the 
nature  that  is  divine  ;  known,  too,  in  its  perfect  fullness 
to  the  sight  that  is  infinite  and  all-wise,  alone. 

The  strongest  and  noblest  souls — such,  for  instance,  as 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  or  the  Apostle  Paul — have  this  element 
in  them,  oftentimes,  the  most  highly  developed.  They 
are  conscious  of  having  advanced  so  short  a  distance  on 
their  course  !  For  ever  before  them  and  above  them 
towers  a  life  that  is  absolutely  perfect.  In  the  presence 
of  this  mightier  power  they  stand  in  awe.  People  won- 
der at  their  gentleness  ;  their  light  esteem  for  what  they 
do;  their  gaze  forever  fixed  upon  some  point  beyond. 
But  they  are  assured  that  their  deeds  are  meagre  when 


47 

compared  with  those  of  God.  Not  in  contrast  with  low 
and  transitory  results  do  they  place  their  own,  but  side 
by  'side  with  those  that  are  highest  and  best.  "  Be  ye 
therefore  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  in  Heaven  is  per- 
fect," are  the  words  of  inspiration  which  are  constantly- 
urging  them  on,  making  their  present  task  merely  a 
stepping-stone  to  one  which  the  future  holds  in  store  ! 

"  What  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  then,  but  to  do 
justly,  and  to  love  mercy  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy 
God?" 

As  I  take  these  words  upon  my  lips,  friends,  in  order 
to  sum  up  the  beautiful  and  inspiring  lesson  they  con- 
tain, I  have  a  concrete  example  in  mind,  which,  I  be- 
lieve, will  illustrate  very  simply,  yet  very  perfectly,  my 
meaning. 

I  refer  to  one  honored  and  beloved  by  us  all,  but  who 
now,  in  the  fullness  of  his  years  and  with  his  life-work  well 
done,  has  entered  upon  a  larger  and  a  diviner  service  in 
his  Father's  Kingdom. 

Last  Sunday  afternoon,  in  the  City  of  New  York,  in 
the  Church  of  All  Souls,  so  dear  to  him,  touching  tributes 
were  paid  by  devoted  friends  to  the  memory  of  Dorman 
B.  Eaton.  His  faithful  and  wise  endeavors  in  behalf  of 
pure  municipal  government  were  gratefully  alluded  to  as 
well  as  the  heroic  labors  he  wrought  for  the  establish- 
ment and  maintenance  of  Civil  Service  Reform.  By 
others  the  story  of  his  achievements  at  Washington,  look- 
ing to  the  welfare  of  his  fellow-citizens  everywhere 
throughout  the  United  States,  was  eloquently  told.  Nor 
was  it  forgotten  that  he  was  a  loyal  and  unselfish  disciple 
and  apostle  of  our  liberal  faith  ;  working  always  in  sea- 


4» 

son  and  out  of  season  to  make  the  truths  expounded  by 
Channing  and  Marti neau  and  Theodore  Parker  a  source 
of  blessing  to  the  world. 

To  the  tribute  here  paid,  as  well  as  to  the  many  other 
tributes  that  have  appeared  in  the  daily  press,  we  can 
only  give  our  reverent  Amen. 

But  somehow  or  other  we,  in  our  little  company  (of 
which  for  so  many  summers  he  has  been  glad  to  form 
one),  would  think  of  Mr.  Eaton  for  a  moment — in  this 
church  among  the  hills,  likewise  so  dear  to  him — simply 
as  a  kind  neighbor ;  as  one  interested  in  our  village 
doings  ;  as  a  fellow- worshipper  and  a  thoughtful  and  sym- 
pathetic friend. 

Was  he  not  one  (if  any  man  ever  was)  who  "did 
justly  and  loved  mercy  and  walked  humbly  with  his 
God  ' '  ?  Certainly,  these  words  of  the  prophet  outline 
my  conception  of  the  character  of  Mr.  Eaton  more  clearly 
and  more  fully  than  any  other  words  could  possibly  have 
the  power  to  do. 

He  was  a  just  man,  I  think  we  will  all  agree  ;  and  this 
characteristic  was  as  evident  in  his  relations  with  the  town 
life  of  Brattleboro,  and  his  connection  with  this  church 
and  society,  and  his  dealings  with  this  entire  community, 
as  in  the  larger  affairs  of  State  and  country.  His  face 
revealed,  as  perhaps  few  faces  do,  the  judicial  spirit 
within — an  interpretation  borne  out  so  richly  in  speech 
and  act.  He  was  just  toward  God  ;  he  was  just  toward 
his  fellow-men  ;  and  if,  perchance,  in  his  zeal  and  anxiety 
to  do  well  "his  Father's  business,"  he  was  not  always 
quite  just  to  himself,  but  laid  upon  his  own  shoulders 
burdens  too  heavy  safely  to  bear,  yet  his  life  of  upwards 


49 

three-score  years  and  ten  bore  fruit  until  its  very  close, 
and  evinced  a  wise  restraint  and  a  careful  husbanding  of 
resources  fit  to  serve  as  a  wholesome  example  to  many  of 
his  countrymen  in  these  days  of  intense  activity  and 
almost  reckless  competition. 

Then  "  he  loved  mercy ,"  as  who  can  doubt  who  has 
been  conversant  with  the  deeds  of  kindness  so  unobtru- 
sively performed  that  marked  the  long  life  of  our  friend  ? 
How  tenderly  you  must  all  call  up  to  remembrance  what 
Mr.  Eaton  has  been  to  this  church  of  our  faith  during 
the  score  of  years  that  he  has  been  connected  with  it  ! 
Thoughtful  and  loving  counsel  has  he  freely  given  to  en- 
hance its  highest  welfare;  words  of  generous  cheer  for 
both  parishioners  and  ministers  have  his  lips  let  fall,  and 
with  his  substance  has  he  striven  ever  to  aid  in  every 
substantial  way  each  good  work  that  this  society  has 
taken  upon  itself  to  do  in  the  service  of  God  and  man. 
We  shall  long  miss  his  stately,  yet  gracious,  presence 
in  our  midst ;  his  warm  hand-clasp,  his  hearty  greeting 
and  the  consciousness  of  a  loyal,  sympathetic  and  en- 
tirely wholesome  and  Christ-like  spirit  shining  behind 
it  all ! 

Finally,  did  ' '  he  not  walk  humbly  with  his  God ' '  ? 
No  need  for  me — no  need  for  you,  my  friends — to  expand 
this  thought.  Our  answer  must  be  that,  together  with 
justice,  tempered  with  mercy,  there  existed  a  sincere 
humility  of  thought  and  utterance.  In  no  other  man  of 
his  depth  of  knowledge,  of  his  breadth  of  vision,  of  his 
faithfulness  in  deed  and  attainment,  have  I  ever  seen  this 
virtue  more  sweetly,  more  perfectly,  revealed.  He  was  a 
child  of  God :    he   would  walk  in   the   footsteps  of  the 


5<> 

Master  as  in  those  of  a  brother  and  a  teacher  in  holy 
things,  yet  he  was  conscious  of  shortcomings  and  failures 
which  he  trusted  might  be  replaced  by  more  perfect  ful- 
fillment in  time  yet  to  come. 

And  so  would  we  leave  him,  friends,  and  take  to  our 
own  hearts  reverently  and  with  renewed  purpose  and  a 
higher  consecration  this  lesson  of  Justice,  of  Humbleness 
and  of  Love  ! 


{Tributes  of  Jfrienosbtp. 


Borman  B.  Baton. 

By  Rev.  Theodore  C  Williams. 
[From  The  Christian  Register,  January,  1900.] 

Dorman  B.  Eaton  has  been  for  many  years  an  honored 
presence  at  every  Unitarian  gathering,  and  a  leader 
everywhere  among  the  small  number  of  men  who  give 
disinterested  thought  to  public  questions.  His  public 
services  and  his  writings  are  well  known,  and  have 
already  been  described  in  the  Christia?i  Register.  The 
cause  of  Civil  Service  Reform,  in  which  he  was  a  pro- 
tagonist, has  now  no  abler  defense  than  his  writings. 

But  his  public  life,  though  he  gave  to  it  a  whole-hearted 
devotion,  was  far  from  exhibiting  the  whole  man.  One 
had  only  to  hear  a  few  moments  of  his  conversation  to 
receive  far-reaching  suggestions,  and  feel  the  presence  of 
a  mind  of  the  first  order.  His  style  of  talk  was  simple, 
utterly  free  from  pedantry  or  dogmatism,  yet  his  thought 
carried  judicial  weight,  and  his  exact  and  comprehensive 
knowledge  was  often  almost  dazzling.  He  resembled 
Gladstone  in  his  genius  for  being  thoroughly  informed. 

He  was  a  sober  mind.  His  extraordinary  intellectual 
powers  seemed  but  the  practical  expression  of  a  certain 
moral  energy  which  might  be  described  —  Matthew 
Arnoldwise — as  public  spirit  touched  by  emotion.  When 
the  moral  note  was  struck,  he  instantly  grew  musical  and 
eloquent.  He  was  the  farthest  possible  from  the  fanatic 
or  the  reformer  with  one  idea.     Civil  Service  Reform  was 


53 

to  him  the  supreme  present  duty  of  the  republic.  But 
all  questions  that  concern  the  welfare  of  states  or  the 
health  of  single  souls  were  interesting  to  him  ;  and  he 
discussed  no  question  without  finding  somewhere  in  the 
vast  range  of  his  clearly  ordered  knowledge  the  illu- 
minating fact,  the  convincing  point  of  view.  This  combi- 
nation of  ethical  passion  with  intellectual  resource  was 
his  most  remarkable  characteristic.  He  never  lost  the 
moral  purpose,  nor  failed  to  furnish  his  conscience  with 
solid  knowledge  and  logical  argument.  In  his  character, 
as  in  his  personal  appearance,  there  was  something 
Roman.  He  was  too  honest  to  be  a  Cicero,  too  modest, 
too  unselfish.  But  with  a  proper  toga  he  could  have 
passed  for  Cato  Major — let  us  say  a  Cato  Christianized — 
with  that  touch  of  rusticity,  too,  which  the  greatest 
Romans  always  had.  He  was  equally  at  ease  in  the 
forum,  debating  the  safety  of  the  republic,  or  on  his  pleas- 
ant Brattleboro  farm,  consulting  of  crops  and  cattle. 

In  the  best  sense  of  the  word,  he  was  an  '  'old-fashioned ' ' 
man  ;  namely,  of  the  fashion  which  is  a  wholesome  model 
for  any  generation.  If  he  ever  opened  a  Ji?i  de  sitcU 
book,  which  is  not  likely,  he  certainly  never  finished  one. 
He  saw  New  York  grow  up.  He  feared  and  disliked  the 
ostentation  and  luxury  which,  beginning  with  the  newly 
rich,  have  multiplied  in  modern  life  for  all  classes.  His 
own  tastes  were  "  for  home-felt  pleasures  and  for  simple 
scenes. ' ' 

But,  though  he  feared  the  overblown  luxuriance  of  our 
new  America,  it  was  not  in  his  nature  to  be  censorious. 
He  trusted  his  country  and  his  countrymen.  He  watched 
the  new  times  with  kindly  as  well  as  philosophic  interest. 


54 

But  he  himself  remained  of  the  generation  of  Emerson, 
of  Curtis,  of  Peter  Cooper,  for  whom  plain  living  and 
high  thinking  were  inseparable,  and  to  whom  personal 
gorgeousness  was  no  temptation. 

Some  of  his  critics  have  thought  that  he  demanded  of 
public  men  too  high  a  standard  of  disinterested  patriotism. 
He  judged  others  by  himself.  He  could  probably  have 
said  that  his  patriotism  never  brought  him  a  dollar,  and 
it  certainly  cost  him  thousands.  It  is  one  of  the  strange, 
sad  things  about  American  politics  that  men  of  Mr. 
Eaton's  type  are  not  popularly  thought  of  for  office-hold- 
ing. Like  the  late  David  A.  Wells  or  Gen.  Walker  or 
President  Eliot,  Mr.  Eaton  instructed  "statesmen"  and 
remained  a  private  citizen.  He  had  essentially  the 
statesman's  mind. 

In  religion  he  was  a  loyal  Unitarian,  broad  and  profound 
in  thought,  but  adhering  reverently  to  the  Christian 
tradition  and  name.  He  was  a  warm  friend  of  Dr.  Bel- 
lows, and  cordially  sustained  the  succeeding  ministers  of 
All  Souls'  Church.  His  gifts  to  the  church  were  large, 
and,  in  proportion  to  his  means,  unequaled.  His  private 
charities  were  constant,  cheerful  and  judicious. 

"  Take  him  for  all  in  all,"  he  was  a  great  soul.  A  few 
such  men,  "  if  peradventure  there  be  fifty  found,"  can 
avert  destruction  from  any  city  in  which  they  live. 
Such  a  life  interprets  the  text,  "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the 
earth." 

To  such  antique  models  of  citizenship — benevolent, 
instructed,  industrious — must  the  rising  generation  look 
if  the  ' '  strenuous ' '  life  is  to  be  in  the  strength  of  a  higher 
national  righteousness. 


flDr.  Baton  at  Hiome. 

By  Augusta  Earned. 

Few  men  of  our  time  have  lived  a  life  so  homogeneous 
as  he  of  whom  I  write ;  few  have  achieved  success  so 
early  in  life,  having  deserved  it  so  well ;  few  have  pur- 
sued their  aims  with  such  singleness  of  purpose,  keeping 
the  ideal  proposed  so  steadily  in  view. 

The  gentle  dignity,  even  benignity,  of  his  demeanor ; 
the  humor  that  played  round  his  speech  and  illumined 
his  face  in  those  hours  when  he  gave  himself  loyally  to 
his  friends  and  to  fireside  joys;  the  memories  he  loved  to 
summon  of  his  early  life,  when  as  a  country  boy  among 
the  Vermont  hills  he  lived  close  to  nature — all  come  back 
as  I  recall  those  pleasant  Sunday  evenings  spent  in  his 
home,  when  he  threw  aside  his  absorbing  work,  his  tire- 
less endeavors  for  the  public  good,  to  give  himself  a  few 
hours  of  rest  and  recreation. 

Some  have  asked:  "Did  Mr.  Eaton  ever  unbend? 
Had  he  a  humorous  side — a  side  adapted  to  social  con- 
verse and  the  lighter,  more  amusing  phases  of  life?" 
That  he  was  essentially  a  thinker,  a  serious  man  engaged 
on  grave  and  weighty  problems,  we  all  know  ;  but  the 
question  of  his  pleasant  phases,  his  genial  moods,  could 
never  be  asked  by  those  who  were  admitted  to  share  in 
the  good  hours  when  he  consented  to  talk  by  his  own 
hearthstone.  Years  after  New  York  had  ceased  to  care 
for  such  friendly  occasions  as  a  Sunday  evening  tea,  he 


56 

and  his  wife,  who  shared  his  taste  for  all  that  was  gen- 
uine and  unostentatious,  for  all  that  was  easy,  cordial 
and  familiar,  were  wont  to  receive  their  friends  at  this 
time,  seldom  in  large  numbers;  a  selected  few;  just 
enough  to  draw  cosily  around  the  tea-table  and  to  enter 
unitedly  into  the  pleasant  converse.  They  knew  how  to 
make  others  happy  in  that  good,  simple  fashion  that  un- 
fortunately has  gone  out  of  vogue  with  the  growth  of  more 
formal  manners,  and  a  more  specious  and  hollow  conven- 
tionality. In  the  old  days  of  New  York  the  Sunday  evening 
tea  was  a  favorite  institution ;  a  time  of  cheery  reunion 
for  friends  and  neighbors.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eaton  cherished 
it  beyond  the  day  of  its  renown ;  made  for  it  a  little 
space  of  warmth  and  comfort,  and  summoned  friends  who 
could  appreciate  such  genuine  hospitality  and  real  inter- 
course ;  a  renewing  of  heart  and  mind ;  a  free  exchange 
of  ideas,  opinions  and  convictions.  It  was  then,  while 
sitting  in  his  favorite  armchair,  the  centre  of  a  little  sym- 
pathetic circle,  that  Mr.  Baton's  face  gathered  sunshine  ; 
that  his  eye  smiled  and  the  corners  of  his  mouth  took 
those  peculiar  indescribable  lines  of  humor  and  good  fel- 
lowship that  made  him  one  of  the  most  delightful  of 
companions,  showing  how  thoroughly  he  enjoyed  the 
good,  warm,  friendly  side  of  life. 

His  habits  of  domesticity  and  home-keeping  were  formed, 
perhaps,  before  New  York  became  a  city  of  palatial  clubs, 
where  men  contrive  to  forget  the  dullness  of  their  fire- 
sides in  the  joys  of  a  sumptuous  hotel,  designed  exclusively 
for  their  own  sex.  I  think  he  could  be  called  in  no  dis- 
tinctive way  a  clubman,  but  rather  a  home  lover,  who 
found  his  best  hours  under  his  own  roof,  and  was  pleased 


57 

with  his  old-fashioned  ideal  of  entertaining,  where  one 
gives  not  only  bread  and  salt,  or  even  nectar  and  ambrosia, 
to  his  guest,  but  something  far  finer — the  hospitality  of 
thought  and  feeling.  I  remember  him  as  a  delightful 
story-teller,  when  he  opened  his  budget  of  things  new 
and  old  and  drew  forth  anecdote,  reminiscence,  interest- 
ing bits  of  history,  characterization  of  men  and  things 
gathered  from  his  long  experience  of  affairs  and  wide 
knowledge  of  the  world.  Then  his  laughter  rang  out 
merrily,  and  a  new,  and  perhaps  unexpected,  side  of  his 
nature  was  revealed. 

But  a  deeper  impression,  always  left  with  me  after  talk- 
ing with  Mr.  Eaton,  was  his  unbounded  generosity.  No 
man  ever  gave  himself  more  unstintedly  to  all  who  needed 
his  knowledge  or  advice  or  counsel.  His  public  services 
to  the  city  and  the  nation  bear  the  same  impress.  Such 
services  as  his  are  not  in  the  market  for  sale  ;  they  must 
be  given  ;  and  how  royally  he  gave  himself  and  his  labors  ! 
The  fact  that  just  at  the  period  of  middle  life  he  judged 
himself  rich  enough  for  his  needs  and  desires,  and  deliber- 
ately chose  to  withdraw  from  his  profession,  and  devote 
himself  to  the  public  service,  without  expectation  or  wish 
for  money  payment  or  the  rewards  of  office,  shows  con- 
clusively the  temper  of  his  mind. 

In  his  social  relations  it  was  the  same.  He  loved  to 
give  of  his  best  to  those  who  asked  or  desired  to  receive. 
He  would  take  infinite  pains  to  make  clear  the  things  he 
was  interested  in,  and  by  the  tempered  enthusiasm  of  his 
nature  he  was  singularly  happy  in  making  the  things 
nearest  his  heart  of  vital  importance  to  the  listener.  His 
earnestness,  his  depth  of  conviction  always  given  forth  so 


58 

calmly,  carried  a  tremendous  force,  and  was  one  of  the 
secrets  of  his  signal  success  in  accomplishing  the  aims  he 
had  in  view.  One  came  away  from  a  talk  with  Mr.  Eaton 
with  no  vapid  sense  of  emptiness  and  ennui,  but  with  a 
feeling  of  refreshment  and  invigoration,  a  new  tension 
of  the  brain,  a  new  sense  of  courage  to  live  and  strive. 

One  should  mention  the  generous  free  gift  of  his  time, 
his  interest,  his  advice  and  counsel  to  those  who  needed 
extrication  from  difficulties.  Neither  did  he  despise 
small  things  and  little  troubles.  He  gave  as  careful 
attention  to  the  legal  perplexities  of  a  poor  woman,  or  an 
old  servant,  as  to  the  most  important  case.  No  matter 
how  busy  he  might  be,  he  was  there  at  home  for  the  help 
of  others,  often  of  humble  people  who  could  not  afford 
to  pay  a  fee. 

Another  trait  in  Mr.  Eaton's  character  that  always 
struck  me  as  unusual  and  most  admirable  was  the 
judicial  fairness  of  his  mind.  He  was  profoundly  ap- 
preciative of  the  good  in  others.  He  sought  for  it  and 
acknowledged  it  gladly.  His  breadth  of  view  was 
always  stimulating.  He  could  do  justice  to  those  to 
whom  by  temperament  and  conviction  he  was  most  op- 
posed. He  could  see  round  and  over  a  subject,  and  was 
capable  of  judging  both  sides.  He  was  never  imprisoned 
by  his  prepossessions,  and  was  singularly  free  from  nar- 
rowing and  belittling  prejudices.  In  the  men  to  whom 
by  principle  he  was  an  adversary  he  could  see  a  hopeful 
gleam  of  something  good  and  compensating  if  it  existed. 
In  those  he  opposed  most  persistently — in  the  corrupt 
city  government  which  he  would  have  reformed  perma- 
nently out  of  power  had  it  been  possible — still,  if  there 


59 

appeared  any  extenuating  trait,  he  was  sure  to  mention 
it,  to  give  it  due  credit.  His  own  painful  experience 
had  left  no  trace  of  bitterness.  He  could  judge  the  pas- 
sions that  drive  men  to  crime,  or  to  corrupt  practices,  be- 
lieving that  still  the  nature  may  harbor  some  little 
hidden  gem  of  virtue.  He  had  a  profound  belief  in  the 
worth  of  human  nature,  in  spite  of  all  the  malevolent  in- 
fluences revealed  by  his  wide  experience.  His  optimism 
had  not  grown  from  emotional  impulse,  but  from  the 
calm  weighing  of  motives  and  deep  insight  into  the  facts 
of  life.  He  judged  all  things  dispassionately ;  made  up 
his  mind  from  thorough  investigation,  which  was  sin- 
gularly evidenced  by  the  last  talk  I  ever  had  with  him, 
on  the  last  of  those  memorable  Sunday  evenings  a  few 
weeks  before  his  death,  while  he  was  still  able  to  see 
friends. 

He  told  me  that  the  rapid  spread  of  Christian  Science 
had  led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  worth  looking 
into  as  one  of  the  religious  phenomena  of  the  time  ;  there- 
fore, he  had  felt  that  he  ought  to  read  Mrs.  Eddy's  book 
to  discover,  if  possible,  the  secret  of  its  power.  Conse- 
quently, he  had  procured  the  book,  and  had  read  it  care- 
fully from  cover  to  cover ;  and  while  he  had  found  a 
philosophy — if  such  it  can  be  called — that  seemed  absurd, 
assumptions  that  made  impossible  claims,  still  he  had 
discovered  excellent  precepts  for  the  conduct  of  life, 
which  if  followed  would  tend  both  to  mental  and  bodily 
health.  This  seems  perfectly  to  illustrate  Mr.  Eaton's 
habitual  attitude — his  desire  to  do  perfect  justice  to  all, 
to  weigh  all  the  evidence,  and  never  to  allow  prejudice 
or  passion  to  utter  hasty  conclusions. 


6o 

So  unambitious  for  himself,  he  was  strenuous  for  the 
good  of  the  world.  His  large  inclusive  sympathy  he 
gave  most  liberally  to  every  good  cause.  His  mind  was 
open  and  unhampered  in  its  movement  by  any  alliance 
that  would  hinder  him  in  siding  with  truth  and  right- 
eousness. He  was  of  the  best  American  type  that 
inscribes  ' '  I  serve ' '  upon  its  banners. 

It  is  sad  to  think  of  his  departure,  but  it  is  joyful  to 
think  that  he  has  lived.  To  the  one  who  loved  him  most, 
who  shared  his  thoughts,  lived  in  his  convictions  and 
ideals,  sympathized  with  all  his  aims,  was  so  completely 
one  with  him  in  sentiment,  in  hope,  in  aspiration,  the 
benefactions  of  his  life  will  in  time  outweigh  the  poign- 
ancy of  grief.  The  fires  of  memory  will  ever  burn  the 
brighter,  for  his  was  a  character  so  substantive  and  real, 
so  rounded  and  compacted  with  meaning  and  purpose, 
that  the  change  of  death  seems  but  a  slight  thing  before 
the  great  assurance  of  continuity  of  life  that  exists  in 
what  he  did — the  good  he  accomplished  for  his  kind,  his 
services  to  humanity,  and  his  forgetfulness  of  self. 

"  He  who  though  thus  endowed  as  with  a  sense 
And  faculty  for  storm  and  turbulence, 
Is  yet  a  soul  whose  master  bias  leans 
To  homefelt  pleasures  and  to  gentle  scenes  ; 
Sweet  images  !  which,  wheresoe'er  he  be, 
Are  at  his  heart ;  and  such  fidelity 
It  is  his  darling  passion  to  approve ; 
More  brave  in  this  that  he  hath  much  to  love." 


Dorman  JB.  Baton. 

By  Rbv.  Frank  I*.  Phalen. 
Church  of  the  Unity,  Worcester,  Mass. 

It  was  my  good  fortune,  while  the  minister  of  the 
Unitarian  parish  of  Brattleboro,  to  have  as  my  summer 
parishioner  for  five  years  the  late  Hon.  Dorman  B.  Eaton, 
whose  recent  death  has  deprived  the  Unitarian  fellowship 
of  America  of  one  of  its  noblest  and  strongest  laymen.  The 
Register  has  already  said,  in  its  editorial  columns  and  in 
notices  and  tributes,  that  Dorman  B.  Eaton  was  a  remark- 
able man.  I  write  to  say  that,  while  I  admired  and  rever- 
enced him  as  one  of  the  stately  representatives  of  American 
citizenship,  illustrating  in  his  noble  figure  and  splendid 
manhood  the  style  and  spirit  of  our  greatest  leaders  in  State 
and  Church,  yet  it  was  from  his  helpful  and  loyal  spirit 
that  I  derived  my  fullest  insight  into  his  superb  nature. 

I  was  a  young,  inexperienced  minister.  He  was  a 
layman  of  commanding  mind  and  superior  knowledge. 
Yet  every  Sunday  found  him  in  his  pew,  and  his  words 
and  offices  of  friendship  helped  to  encourage  and  develop 
the  self-conscious  and  anxious  minister.  His  Brattleboro 
home  was  alwa}'S  a  haven  of  rest  and  inspiration,  and 
the  thoughtful  and  substantial  ways  in  which  he  served 
both  the  parish  and  its  minister  have  left  a  memory  rich 
and  precious.  I  can  see  in  thought  his  remarkable  form, 
and  watch  his  strong  and  impressive  countenance,  and 
hear  his  voice  as  I  used  to  listen  to  his  words  of  wisdom, 
as  we  walked  among  the  trees  and  beside  the  river  he 
loved  in  dear  old  Vermont. 

Veneration  and  regret  unite  to  sadden  my  heart  as  I  lay 
this  tribute  of  respect  upon  his  new-made  grave. 


Dorman  B.  Baton. 

By  Right  Reverend  Henry  C.  Potter, 
Church  of  the  Incarnation,  New  York,  February  26,  1900. 

There  has  gone  to  his  rest  since  I  last  spoke  to  you 
here  a  citizen,  not  of  our  own  Communion  (I  mean  the 
late  Mr.  Dorman  B.  Eaton),  who,  as  an  exemple  of  spot- 
less character  as  a  man,  and  of  heroism  and  almost  mar- 
tyrdom as  a  citizen,  deserves  to  be  commemorated  in  some 
enduring  monument  far  more  than  a  good  many  people 
whom  we  are  likely  so  to  honor.  Who  of  us  here,  who 
were  citizens  of  New  York  on  that  dark  night  when  he 
was  stricken  down  by  the  appropriate  bludgeon  of  some 
myrmidon  of  the  Ring  that  then  ruled  us,  will  forget  the 
thrill  of  horror  with  which  every  right-minded  man  and 
woman  among  us  resented  that  infamous  outrage  ?  But  it 
never  chilled  a  brave  man's  patriotism  ;  it  never  stayed 
his  fearless  hand  or  voice ;  most  significant  of  all,  it 
never  soured  or  embittered  his  fine  and  high-bred  chivalry 
of  aim  and  purpose ;  nor,  when  health  and  strength  came 
back  to  him,  cost  us  or  any  good  cause  one  hour  possible 
to  him  for  unselfish  service  or  courageous  speech! 

It  is  in  such  examples  that  we  learn  what  faith  in  God 
can  do  in  making  of  our  humblest  gifts  a  righteous  life 
for  God  and  man.  To-day  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
waits  for  such  lives  as  witnesses,  as  beacon-lights,  as,  of 
all  others,  the  mightiest  and  most  resistless  forces  for  the 
advancement  of  His  kingdom  on  earth! 


Dorman  JB.  lEaton. 

By  John  B.  Pine. 

[A  memorial  read  before  the  Association  of  the  Bar  of  the  City  of  New  York, 

fanuary,  190/.] 

Among  the  men  who  contributed  by  their  efforts  to  the 
formation  of  this  Association  Dorman  B.  Eaton  is  conspic- 
uous, not  only  for  the  intense  earnestness  of  purpose  with 
which  he  labored  to  that  end,  but  for  the  almost  tragic  cir- 
cumstances attending  its  accomplishment,  and  the  record  of 
his  professional  life  and  public  services  is  well  worthy  of  the 
loftiest  ideals  which  the  Association  was  formed  to  maintain . 

Born  in  Hardwick,  Vermont,  in  1823,  he  evinced,  when 
a  lad,  the  strong  will  and  mature  judgment  which  charac- 
terized him  through  life,  and,  contrary  to  his  father's 
wishes,  abandoned  the  occupation  of  farming  to  make  his 
way  through  college  and  to  study  law.  He  was  grad- 
uated from  the  University  of  Vermont  in  1848,  and  two 
years  later  from  the  Harvard  Law  School,  where,  on 
graduating,  he  took  the  prize  for  his  essay  on  "The 
Competency  of  Witnesses."  Judge  William  Kent,  who 
was  one  of  the  committee  which  awarded  the  prize,  imme- 
diately offered  Mr.  Eaton  employment  as  his  assistant  in 
editing  the  "Commentaries"  of  the  elder  Kent.  This 
led  Mr.  Eaton  to  come  to  New  York,  where  he  was 
admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1857.  Eighteen  months  after 
graduation  he  was  taken  into  partnership  by  Judge  Kent, 
who  was  then  counsel  for  the  Erie  Railroad  and  other 
large  corporations.  On  the  retirement  of  Judge  Kent 
from  active  practice  Mr.  J.  C.  Bancroft  Davis  became  a 
member  of  the  firm  and  his  successor  as  counsel  for  the 
Erie,  but  Mr.  Eaton  continued  to  be  the  actual  trusted 


64 

adviser  of  the  company  quite  as  much  as  his  senior,  and 
upon  the  reorganization  of  the  company  Mr.  Eaton 
became  counsel  for  the  receiver  and  afterwards  of  the 
new  corporation.  This  position  he  continued  to  hold 
until  Fiske  and  Gould  secured  control  of  the  company,  a 
period  of  some  ten  or  twelve  years  ;  but  his  responsible 
and  exacting  professional  employment  by  the  railroad  and 
other  clients  did  not  deter  him  from  giving  a  large  amount 
of  his  time  during  this  period  to  public  service.  Pro- 
foundly convinced  of  the  duty  and  responsibility  of  the 
legal  profession  to  the  State,  a  conviction  which  he  often 
expressed  both  eloquently  and  forcibly,  he  devoted  him- 
self with  all  his  energy  and  vast  capacity  for  work  to  the 
remedying  of  public  abuses.  His  views  as  to  the  obliga- 
tions of  the  legal  profession  were  strongly  stated  in  an 
address  which  he  delivered  before  the  graduating  class  of 
the  Yale  Law  School,  in  which  he  said  :  "  No  profession 
so  public ;  none  so  competent,  and,  therefore,  none  with 
so  much  responsibility  for  whatever  in  public  affairs  is 
wrong  ;  for  whatever  the  Government  ought  to  do  which 
is  yet  undone  ;  for  whatever  is  unworthy  or  inadequate  in 
our  own  ranks ;  for  whatever  may  be  the  fate  of  this 
great  country  in  the  next  generation."  It  was  to  edu- 
cate the  Bar  of  New  York  to  recognize  these  responsi- 
bilities and  to  perform  these  duties  that  Mr.  Eaton  so 
earnestly  advocated  the  formation  of  this  Association, 
and  his  own  life  offers  the  most  striking  evidence  of  the 
sincerity  and  depth  of  his  convictions. 

The  first  great  public  wrong  which  he  attacked  was 
the  unsanitary  condition  of  the  city  and  the  absence  of 
any  safeguards  against  the   spread  of  contagious   dis- 


65 

eases.  Iii  1864  the  corruption,  ignorance  and  venality  of 
the  health  officials  were  so  notorious,  and  the  mortality 
from  cholera  and  other  epidemics  so  great,  as  to  excite 
general  alarm,  and  a  Citizens'  Association  was  organized 
to  bring  about  a  reform.  As  a  member  of  its  Law  Com- 
mittee Mr.  Eaton  drew  an  act  creating  the  Metropolitan 
Board  of  Health  for  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  and  after 
two  years  of  the  most  assiduous  effort  he  succeeded  in 
having  it  passed  by  the  Legislature  (Laws  1866,  Chapter 
74).  This  was  the  first  statute  enacted  in  this  country 
providing  for  a  municipal  sanitary  system,  and  the  scope 
and  extent  and  especially  the  arbitrary  character  of  the 
powers  vested  in  the  health  authorities,  so  essential  to 
any  effective  administration,  were  an  entire  innovation. 
The  act  was  bitterly  contested,  and  many  of  the  best 
lawyers  were  in  doubt  as  to  its  constitutionality ;  but  Mr. 
Eaton,  as  counsel  for  the  Health  Board,  successfully  de- 
fended it  and  was  sustained  by  the  Court  of  Appeals. 
Great  as  were  the  benefits  derived  by  the  City  of  New 
York  from  this  legislation,  they  were  but  a  small  part  of 
the  results  which  it  accomplished,  for  its  passage  led  to 
the  adoption  of  similar  laws  for  other  cities,  and  its  funda- 
mental provisions  are  to-day  embodied  not  only  in  the 
charter  of  New  York,  but  in  the  sanitary  code  of  every 
city  and  town  of  the  United  States. 

During  the  four  years  following  the  passage  of  the 
Health  Law,  from  1866  to  1870,  Mr.  Eaton,  as  counsel 
for  the  Board  of  Health  and  also  as  counsel  for  the  Board 
of  Excise,  devoted  himself  to  the  enforcement  of  the 
Health  Law  and  Excise  Law  with  a  vigor  and  courage 
which  brought  him  into  conflict  with  the  worst  elements 


66 

of  the  city,  among  whom  were  many  of  the  allies  of  the 
Tweed  Ring,  then  at  the  height  of  its  power.  Corruption 
existed  in  every  department  of  the  city,  and,  worst  of  all, 
in  the  judiciary.  Individually  and  as  a  member  of  the 
Committee  of  Seventy,  Mr.  Eaton  proved  himself  entirely 
fearless  in  attacking  the  ring  publicly  in  the  courts  and 
in  the  press.  Tweed  and  the  Erie  Railroad  Ring  were 
then  in  close  alliance,  and  Mr.  Eaton  was  as  indefati- 
gable in  exposing  the  corruption  of  one  as  of  the  other. 
The  famous  Ramsay  suit,  brought  by  Mr.  Eaton  on 
behalf  of  the  stockholders  of  the  Boston,  Hartford  and 
Erie  Railroad  against  Fiske  and  Gould,  was  the  principal 
obstacle  to  the  accomplishment  of  their  fraudulent 
schemes.  The  condition  of  affairs  at  this  time  was  such 
as  to  impress  upon  many  of  the  leading  members  of  the 
Bar  the  necessity  of  taking  steps  to  sustain  the  profession 
in  its  rightful  position  and  to  assert  its  proper  influence 
as  an  organized  body.  With  the  view  to  the  formation 
of  a  Bar  Association,  a  call  for  a  meeting  was  prepared  in 
December,  1869,  by  some  six  or  eight  members  of  the 
Bar,  including  Stephen  P.  Nash,  James  C.  Carter,  Dor- 
man  B.  Eaton,  Augustus  F.  Smith  and  others,  stating  it 
to  be  the  belief  of  the  signers  that  the  organized  action 
and  influence  of  the  legal  profession,  properly  exerted, 
would  lead  to  the  creation  of  more  intimate  relations 
between  its  members ;  would  sustain  the  profession  in  its 
proper  position  in  the  community,  and  would  thereby 
enable  it  in  many  ways  to  promote  the  interests  of  the 
public.  The  nature  of  the  public  interests  especially 
requiring  the  attention  of  the  Bar  at  that  particular  time 
can  be  readily  inferred.      The  call  was  signed  by  two 


67 

hundred  and  fifty  lawyers,  and  a  largely-attended  meet- 
ing, at  which  the  Association  was  organized,  was  held  on 
February  i,  1870,  Mr.  Eaton  being  one  of  the  speakers 
and  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Nominations.  Twelve 
days  later,  at  midnight  on  February  12th,  as  Mr.  Eaton 
was  about  entering  his  home,  he  was  waylaid  and  struck 
down  by  an  assailant,  evidently  with  murderous  intent. 
On  February  15th  the  Association  again  met  and  directed 
its  Executive  Committee  to  offer  a  reward  of  $5,000  for 
the  apprehension  and  conviction  of  the  criminal.  Un- 
happily the  reward  was  never  earned,  but  the  editorial 
opinion  expressed  by  the  New  York  Times  on  February 
17th  was  generally  held:  "that  some  one  of  the  per- 
sons whom  Mr.  Eaton  has  offended  by  his  attack  upon 
dishonesty  and  corruption  deliberately  hired  an  assassin 
to  perform  this  work." 

A  long  and  serious  illness  compelled  Mr.  Eaton  to 
withdraw  from  active  practice,  which  he  never  resumed, 
but  as  soon  as  his  health  was  sufficiently  restored  he 
again  devoted  himself  to  reform  work,  and  that  work  he 
never  relinquished  during  the  remaining  years  of  his 
life.  As  soon  as  the  Health  Department  of  his  creation 
had  been  firmly  established,  he  took  up  the  subject  of 
the  Fire  Department,  which  up  to  that  time  had  been 
dependent  upon  voluntary  service,  and  assisted  in  pre- 
paring and  in  securing  the  enactment  of  the  Charter  of 
1870,  reorganizing  the  local  government  of  the  City 
{Laws  1S70,  Chapter  187).  The  features  of  this  law, 
which  were  especially  the  work  of  Mr.  Eaton,  were 
the  sections  creating  a  paid  Fire  Department  in  place  of 
the  wholly  inadequate  and  politically  corrupt  volunteer 


68 

service,  and  a  Department  of  Docks,  there  having  pre- 
viously been  no  department  especially  charged  with  the 
care  of  the  water  front.  Scarcely  had  this  work  been 
finished  when  Mr.  Eaton  undertook,  single  handed,  the 
reorganization  of  the  Police  Justices'  Court,  which,  under 
an  elective  system,  had  become  a  public  scandal.  He 
drew  an  act  providing  in  the  most  complete  manner  for 
an  appointive  judicial  system,  conferring  long  terms  upon 
the  appointees  and  safeguarding  in  every  manner  possible 
the  power  of  appointment  {Laws  1873,  Chapter  538}. 
The  statute  is  a  fine  illustration  of  Mr.  Eaton's  skillful 
draftsmanship,  and  of  his  remarkable  constructive  capac- 
ity. The  next  years  of  Mr.  Eaton's  life  were  devoted 
almost  exclusively  to  the  study,  both  at  home  and 
abroad,  of  the  operations  of  the  Civil  Service  and  to  the 
promotion  of  Civil  Service  Reform.  He  held  the  position 
of  United  States  Civil  Service  Commissioner  under  three 
Administrations,  and  drew  the  United  States  Civil  Service 
Law,  known  as  the  "  Pendleton  Act,"  which  was  passed 
in  1 882.  He  also  drew  the  Civil  Service  Law  of  this  State, 
which  has  served  as  the  basis  for  similar  laws  in  almost 
all  the  other  States.  Carl  Schurz  described  Mr.  Eaton 
as  the  "legislative  architect  of  Civil  Service  Reform," 
and  he  proved  himself  a  lawmaker  in  the  best  sense  of 
the  term,  although  never  a  member  of  a  legislative  body. 
Each  of  the  statutes  drafted  by  Mr.  Eaton  represented  a 
distinctly  new  idea,  marking  an  advance  in  government 
or  administration,  and  the  fact  that  he  was  able  to  secure 
their  enactment  evidences  his  ability  as  an  educator  of 
public  opinion.  With  this  object  in  view  he  wrote  and 
published  extensively,  and  his  two  principal  works  "  The 


69 

Civil  Service  of  Great  Britain"  and  "The  Government 
of  Municipalities"  are  monuments  of  careful  research. 
The  latter  volume  contains  not  only  the  author's  conclu- 
sions as  to  the  best  methods  of  municipal  administration, 
based  upon  years  of  study  and  investigation  in  this  coun- 
try and  Europe,  but  is  a  compendium  of  information  upon 
the  subject.  The  problems  of  municipal  government 
seemed  to  Mr.  Eaton  to  present  the  gravest  and  most 
dangerous  questions  as  affecting  the  future  prosperity  of 
his  country.  Upon  the  solution  of  these  problems  he 
expended  a  great  part  of  his  life  and  indefatigable  indus- 
try, and  in  the  disposition  of  his  property  he  endeavored 
to  further  the  realization  of  his  ideals  by  the  aid  of  edu- 
cation. By  the  terms  of  his  will  he  left  legacies  of 
$100,000  each  to  Harvard  and  Columbia  Universities 
for  the  endowment  of  professorships  in  the  Science  of 
Government  and  in  Municipal  Science  and  Administra- 
tion, devoted  to  the  elucidation  of  the  principles  of  sound 
government,  national  and  municipal,  and,  also,  as  he 
explained  in  his  will,  for  the  purpose  of  "inducing  and 
enabling  the  most  worthy  citizens  to  fairly  exercise  a  con- 
trolling power  in  the  Republic."  The  usefulness  and 
influence  of  the  long  life  of  unselfish  labor  for  the  public 
good  which  ended  on  the  twenty- third  of  December,  1899, 
will  thus  be  continued  and  perpetuated.  Few  men  have 
so  impressed  themselves  upon  the  statute  law  of  their 
country  as  Mr.  Eaton  has  done.  The  enactments  which 
he  prepared  are  an  enduring  memorial  of  his  broad  and 
wise  statesmanship,  and  by  the  terms  of  his  will  he  gave 
expression  to  the  profound  sense  of  public  duty  which  gov- 
erned him  through  life,  both  as  a  lawyer  and  as  a  citizen. 


Efcucatfonal  Enbowments. 

Mr.  Eaton  by  his  will  left  bequests  of  $100,000  each  to 
Harvard  University  and  to  Columbia  University,  payable 
on  the  death  of  his  widow.  The  provisions  of  the  will 
are  as  follows : 

"Upon  the  decease  of  my  said  wife  I  direct  my  said  Trustees  to 
distribute  and  pay  over  my  said  residuary  estate  as  follows  : 

'•'■Firstly.  To  the  Corporation  known  as  the  President  and 
Fellows  of  Harvard  College  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  the  sum 
of  One  hundred  thousand  ($100,000)  Dollars,  for  the  purpose  of 
endowing  and  maintaining  a  professorship  of  the  Science  of 
Government  in  said  College.  The  principal  of  said  sum  is  to  be 
held  as  a  permanent  investment,  and  only  the  income  is  to  be  used 
for  the  support  of  said  professorship. 

"I  do  not  attempt  to  prescribe  the  specific  instruction  to  be 
given  through  this  professorship ;  but  I  may  say  that  I  have  en- 
dowed it  not  only  in  the  faith  that  it  will  be  always  filled  by  an 
able  and  patriotic  citizen,  zealously  devoted  to  its  purpose,  but  in 
the  hope  that,  through  its  teaching,  the  great  principles  upon 
which  our  national  constitution  is  based,  and  in  conformity  to 
which  administration  should  be  carried  on,  will  be  vindicated  and 
strengthened;  that  the  fit  relation  between  parties  and  govern- 
ment will  be  made  plain ;  that  the  obligations  of  the  moral  law 
and  of  patriotic  endeavor  in  party  politics  and  all  official  life  will 
be  persuasively  expounded ;  that  the  just  relations  between  public 
opinion,  party  opinion  and  individual  independence  will  be  set 
forth ;  that  an  effective  influence  will  be  exerted  for  making  public 
administration  and  legislation  in  the  United  States  worthy  of  the 
character  and  intelligence  of  their  people ;  and  that  not  only  the 
salutary  lessons  of  history  will  be  presented,  but  that  the  most 
appropriate  and  effective  means  of  practical  wisdom,  in  our  day, 


will  be  considered  for  preventing  corruption  and  partisan  despot- 
ism in  politics  and  government  and  for  inducing  and  enabling  the 
most  worthy  citizens  to  fairly  exercise  a  controlling  power  in  the 
republic.  It  seems  to  me  that  these  lessons — and  especially  such 
as  may  be  drawn  from  the  history  of  the  ancient  Italian  and  Dutch 
republics  and  from  that  of  England — have  been  by  no  means 
adequately  expounded  in  the  teachings  of  our  political  science. 

"Secondly.  To  the  Corporation  known  as  The  Trustees  of 
Columbia  College  in  the  City  of  New  York,  the  sum  of  One  hun- 
dred thousand  ($100,000)  Dollars,  for  the  purpose  of  endowing  and 
maintaining  a  Professorship  of  Municipal  Science  and  Administra- 
tion in  said  College.  The  principal  of  said  sum  is  to  be  held  as  a 
permanent  investment,  and  only  the  income  is  to  be  used  in  the 
support  of  the  Professorship.  The  explanations  which  I  have 
made  as  to  the  other  Professorship  are  largely  applicable  here ; 
but,  without  attempting  to  prescribe  the  instruction  to  be  given,  I 
wish  to  add  these  words :  The  problem  of  municipal  government 
is  one  of  great  difficulty  and  peril,  and  there  is  little  in  our  early 
constitutions  to  aid  in  its  solution.  A  true  and  safe  municipal 
system  is  yet  to  be  created  in  the  United  States.  Nowhere  is 
patriotic  and  wise  leadership  on  such  a  subject  more  needed,  or  can 
it  be  more  useful,  than  in  the  City  of  New  York.  To  determine  a 
definite  sphere  within  which  cities  and  villages  shall  substantially 
control  their  own  affairs ;  to  clearly  mark  the  limits  of  co-operation 
between  them  and  the  states  beyond  this  sphere ;  to  provide  the 
best  methods  of  municipal  administration  ;  to  create  councils  in 
cities  and  villages  which  shall,  in  substance,  exercise  their  local 
authority  and  represent  their  public  opinion  rather  than  their  party 
opinion ;  to  greatly  reduce  the  number  and  frequency  of  elections 
in  municipalities  ;  to  prevent  the  control  of  their  affairs  by  parties 
and  factions,  and  to  make  good  municipal  government  the  ambi- 
tion and  endeavor  of  the  worthiest  citizens — these  seem  to  me  to  be 
great  problems  of  statesmanship,  towards  the  solution  of  which  I 
trust  this  professorship  will  largely  contribute.  Through  it,  I  hope 
municipal  wisdom,  gathered  from  the  most  enlightened  cities  of 
other  countries  and  from  all  the  best-governed  municipalities  of  the 
union,  will  find  effective  expression." 


72 

In  an  editorial  reference  to  these  bequests  it  was  re- 
marked that  there  could  be  no  more  fitting  time  than 
the  present  to  endow  professorships  to  ' '  vindicate  and 
strengthen ' '  the  ' '  great  principles  upon  which  our  Con- 
stitution  is  based ;  "  "to  provide  the  best  method  of  munic- 
ipal administration ;  to  prevent  the  control  of  municipal 
affairs  by  parties  and  factions,  and  to  make  good  munici- 
pal administration  the  ambition  and  endeavor  of  the 
worthiest  citizens."  With  equal  force  it  may  be  said 
that  no  individual  could  more  fitly  be  commemorated  by 
these  endowments  than  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  for  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  was  devoted  to  the  attainment  of  the  objects 
which  these  professorships  are  intended  to  promote,  and 
his  final  benefaction  is,  therefore,  but  the  continuation  of 
his  life  work. 


Dorman  B.  Eaton. 

By  Frederick  G.  Burnham. 
[From  The  Berkshire  Industrial  Farm  Record,  March,  igoo.] 

When  the  late  Judge  William  Kent,  son  of  the  great 
Chancellor,  in  1850  awarded  the  prize  essay  at  the  Cam- 
bridge Law  School  to  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  he  suggested  to 
him  to  come  to  New  York  City  and  aid  him  in  editing  a 
new  edition  of  his  father's  "Commentaries."  At  the 
end  of  eighteen  months  Mr.  Eaton  became  a  member  of 
the  law  firm  of  Kent,  Eaton  &  Davis,  the  latter  being  I. 
C.  Bancroft  Davis,  subsequently  so  well  known  as  Assist- 
ant Secretary  of  State,  and  now  a  Judge  of  the  Court  of 
Claims.  This  law  firm  immediately  became  a  leader  at 
the  New  York  bar,  and  transacted  an  immense  amount  of 
the  great  corporation-law  business  that  centres  in  New 
York  City.  Mr.  Eaton  quickly  became  the  counsel  of  a 
large  number  of  these  great  corporations,  and  managed 
their  great  interests  with  consummate  skill  and  ability. 
If  his  reputation  had  not  already  been  established  as  a 
profound  lawyer  and  master  of  the  great  principles  under- 
lying our  jurisprudence,  and  as  an  inveterate  and  tena- 
cious antagonist,  he  would  easily  have  acquired  this  rep- 
utation in  the  great  Erie  Railroad  litigation,  during  the 
continuance  of  which,  and  just  as  his  efforts  were  being 
crowned  with  success,  Mr.  Eaton  was  sandbagged  one 
night  as  he  was  turning  from  Fifth  avenue  to  his  resi- 
dence just  around  the  corner. 


74 

There  he  lay  senseless  and  crushed  until  a  passerby 
took  him  up  and  placed  him  in  his  home.  The  strong 
man  with  a  constitution  of  iron  and  intellectual  gifts  and 
acquirements  that  easily  placed  him  with  the  leaders  of 
the  American  bar  lay  in  his  bed  for  weeks.  After  a  long 
time,  regaining  sufficient  strength  to  be  taken  to  the 
steamer,  he  and  his  devoted  wife  went  abroad  and  passed 
two  years  in  simply  winning  back  his  strength.  On  his 
return  home  he  did  not  again  enter  professional  life,  but 
from  that  time  devoted  himself  largely  to  questions  of 
public  interest.  With  the  late  George  William  Curtis 
and  their  noble  fellow-laborers,  he  pushed  the  great  cause 
of  Civil  Service  Reform,  and  spent  in  that  work  so  neces- 
sary to  our  national  life  a  large  part  of  his  splendid 
powers.  From  this  time  on  he  also  drafted  much  of  the 
reform  legislation  of  the  State,  and  spent  the  larger  part 
of  his  energy  and  superb  acquirements  for  the  public. 
Such  devotion  to  the  public  reform  is  seldom  seen,  and 
goes  unrecognized  by  the  multitude.  Upon  this  fearless 
citizen  and  great  lawyer  never  came  a  stain  of  dishonor, 
or  even  a  shadow  of  a  stain.  It  was  one  of  my  great 
privileges  to  know  him  well  for  forty  years,  and  the 
memory  of  this  great  and  pure  and  good  man  is  one  of 
my  choicest  possessions.  He  was  greatly  interested  in 
our  institution  from  the  very  start,  and  came  on  our 
Board  as  a  Director.  Whilst  serving  in  this  capacity  he 
was,  it  need  not  be  said,  a  faithful  and  wise  counsellor. 
When  he  passed  away  our  Farm  lost  one  of  its  truest 
friends.     Where  can  we  hope  to  secure  his  successor  ? 


Dorman  B.  Baton. 

By  Hon.  Henry  E.  Howland. 
[From  the  Annual  Report  for  i8go  of  the  Century  Association.] 

Dorman  B.  Eaton  was  for  many  years  one  of  the 
ablest  and  most  prominent  lawyers  in  New  York,  engaged 
with  Judge  William  Kent  in  an  extensive  practice  and 
prominent  in  many  of  the  largest  and  most  important 
cases  in  the  courts.  He  was  well  equipped  in  his  pro- 
fession, sound,  forcible,  thorough,  and  contributed  largely 
to  the  legal  literature  of  his  time. 

He  was  one  of  the  most  public-spirited  citizens  in  the 
city,  was  prominent  in  the  attack  upon  the  Tweed  Ring, 
and  in  resistance  to  the  tide  of  corruption  which  threat- 
ened to  overwhelm  the  courts  and  bar  of  New  York,  and 
as  a  consequence  was  marked  for  assassination  by  those 
who  were  its  agents,  a  fate  which  he  narrowly  escaped, 
with  health  so  impaired  that  he  withdrew  from  the  active 
practice  of  his  profession  for  a  time. 

But  it  is  as  one  of  the  most  foremost  advocates  of  Civil 
Service  Reform  that  he  will  be  best  remembered.  To  him 
more  than  to  any  other  man,  unless  it  be  to  our  honored 
member  Everett  P.  Wheeler,  is  due  the  credit  for  the 
passage  of  the  first  Civil  Service  Act,  of  which  he  was 
the  draughtsman,  and  to  his  wise  conservatism  is  largely 
due  its  inauguration  and  extension.  Realizing  that  the 
introduction  of  such  a  system  required  moderation  and 
time  to  accustom  politicians  and  public  men  to  such 
a  radical  change  in  opposition  to  all  the  traditions  of 
our   Government,    and   seeing  that  the  tree  must  take 


76 

root  before  putting  out  its  spreading  branches,  by  careful 
study  at  home  and  abroad  he  prepared  himself  for  the 
work,  and  by  persuasion,  by  elaborate  reports,  by  un- 
answerable arguments,  and  by  unremitting  labor  he  pre- 
pared the  way  for  its  final,  firm  establishment  by  convinc- 
ing legislators  of  its  value,  and  creating  an  irresistible 
demand  for  it  by  the  people.  Undaunted  through  dis- 
couragement and  failure,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  as 
a  member  of  the  first  Civil  Service  Commission,  and  after- 
wards as  its  chairman,  through  the  administrations  of 
General  Grant,  Hayes,  Arthur  and  Cleveland,  he  saw 
finally  the  fruition  of  his  labors  both  in  the  State  and 
Nation,  and  the  system  of  such  inestimable  value  to  the 
country  well  founded,  never  to  be  abrogated.  Such  a 
work  is  a  lasting  monument  to  any  man. 

In  addition  he  was  a  close  student  and  an  efficient 
worker  upon  municipal  problems.  At  the  request  of 
Congress  he  prepared  a  code  of  laws  for  the  District  of 
Columbia.  He  drafted  a  law  for  the  establishment  of  a 
Board  of  Health  and  for  the  paid  Fire  Department,  and 
the  establishment  of  Police  Courts  in  this  city,  fearlessly 
advocating  them  before  the  Legislature  and  meeting 
opposition  and  insult  from  the  disreputable  advocates  of 
the  old  system  with  characteristic  calmness  and  dignity, 
which  brought  success  to  his  efforts.  He  labored  in  every 
good  cause,  was  prominent  in  public  enterprises,  earnest 
in  church  and  benevolent  work,  was  known  and  respected 
throughout  the  city,  was  especially  happy  in  his  domestic 
relations,  and  will  always  be  remembered  as  a  leading 
citizen  and  ornament  in  the  city  in  which  he  lived  and 
labored  so  long. 


•Resolutions. 


Cburcb  of  ail  Souls. 

Dorman  B.  Eaton  died  on  the  twenty-third  day  of 
December,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-nine,  in  the  City 
of  New  York,  where  his  life  since  eighteen  hundred  and 
fifty  had  been  largely  spent. 

Born  in  Vermont,  he  was  graduated  at  the  University 
of  Vermont,  and  afterwards  at  the  Harvard  Law  School. 
In  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty  he  began  the  active  prac- 
tice of  law  in  New  York  City,  and  was  thereafter  identi- 
fied with  the  life  and  interests  of  this  State. 

A  man  of  great  force  and  power,  yet  of  remarkable 
simplicity  of  character,  he  seemed  ever  actuated  by  the 
highest  aims  and  ideals.  With  him  there  was  never  any 
compromise  with  wrong  permitted.  Time-serving,  in  his 
eyes,  was  an  abomination. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Eaton  devoted  his  life  with  tireless 
energy  to  the  cause  of  Civil  Service  Reform,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  accomplishing  much  permanent  good.  It  was 
largely  through  his  instrumentality  that  public  sentiment 
became  so  aroused  that  to-day  we  see,  as  the  concrete 
results  of  his  endeavors,  thousands  of  offices  held  by  the 
incumbents  under  tenure  of  faithful  performance  of  duty 
rather  than  under  the  tenure  of  political  servitude. 


8o 

As  a  member  of  this  congregation  he  was  always  an 
upholder  of  what  was  best,  and  spared  neither  time  nor 
money  in  furthering  the  interests  of  the  Society. 

As  one  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  his  faithful  discharge 
of  the  duties  of  office  and  conservative  judgment  made 
him  a  most  valued  member. 

Now,  whereas,  The  Trustees  of  this  Society  are  desirous 
of  expressing  their  feelings  of  respect  for  the  life,  character 
and  achievements  of  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  and  attesting 
their  sorrow  at  his  death  : 

Be  it  resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  First 
Congregational  (All  Souls')  Church  record  on  the  minute 
book  of  this  Society  this  statement,  preamble  and  reso- 
lution as  the  expression  of  their  feeling,  and  that  a 
proper  copy  thereof  be  forwarded  to  Mrs.  Eaton  as  an 
expression  of  our  sorrow  and  of  our  sympathy  in  her  loss. 

FREDERICK   F.    FORSTER, 

Secretary. 


Hmerican  Trinitarian  Bssoctation. 

The  Directors  of  the  American  Unitarian  Association 
adopted  the  following  resolution  and  spread  the  same 
upon  the  minutes  of  the  Board  : 

Voted,  That  this  Board  records  its  sense  of  the  loss 
sustained  in  the  death  of  its  Vice-President,  the  Honor- 
able Dorman  B.  Eaton,  lawyer,  statesman,  reformer ;  a 
life-long  servant  of  the  truth  and  laborer  for  social  bet- 
terment ;  a  pioneer  and  steadfast  supporter  of  the  cause 
of  Civil  Service  Reform  ;  a  public-spirited  citizen  ;  a  loyal 
disciple  of  pure  Christianity. 

SAMUEL  A.  ELIOT, 

Secretary. 


^Unitarian  Conference  of  tbe  flDtbMe  States 
ant)  Canada. 

The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Unitarian  Conference  of 
the  Middle  States  and  Canada,  at  its  regular  meeting, 
January  29,  1900,  appointed  Rev.  John  W.  Chadwick  and 
Rev.  Thomas  R.  Slicer  a  committee  to  prepare  resolu- 
tions expressing  the  sentiments  of  the  Board  in  relation 
to  the  death  of  Hon.  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  President  of  the 
Conference.     The  following  were  submitted  : 

Whereas,  The  Honorable  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  President 
of  the  Unitarian  Conference  of  the  Middle  States  and 
Canada,  has  by  the  hand  of  death  been  taken  from  the 
service  of  our  Conference  and  the  cause  it  represents, 

Be  it  resolved,  That  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Eaton  the 
Conference  has  lost  a  presiding  officer  who,  in  his  several 
terms  of  service,  was  unselfishly  devoted  to  its  work, 
giving  freely  of  his  time  and  trained  ability  to  the  further- 
ance of  its  various  ends,  by  the  wisdom  of  his  counsels 
guiding  it  through  many  narrow  straits,  and  by  his  persist- 
ent energy  inspiring  others  to  fresh  courage. 

Resolved,  That,  while  we  remember  his  relations  to  our 
Conference  and  our  personal  relations  with  him  with 
peculiar  pleasure,  we  gratefully  appreciate  the  larger 
aspects  of  his  Unitarian  faith  and  service,  his  confidence 
in  Unitarian  ideas  and  beliefs  and  principles  as  deserving 


»3 

of  the  utmost  loyalty,  and  his  own  staunch  and  liberal 
support  of  these  as  represented  by  the  American  Uni- 
tarian Association,  the  Church  of  All  Souls  and  the 
Unitarian  denomination  at  large. 

Resolved,  That,  as  an  ethical  movement  in  sympathy 
with  reform,  Unitarianism  has  had  in  Mr.  Eaton's  wise, 
persistent  and  effective  interest  in  the  reform  of  the  Civil 
Service  and  Municipal  Government  a  noble  and  impress- 
ive illustration,  while  in  all  things  making  for  good 
citizenship  he  has  been  an  example  of  which  we  have 
been  justly  proud. 

Resolved,  That  in  all  the  personal  and  intimate  relations 
of  his  life  he  manifested  a  character  in  keeping  with  his 
religious  faith  and  his  great  public  reputation,  and  by  his 
uniform  kindness  and  consideration  won  the  deserved 
respect  of  those  who  knew  him  well,  and  the  sincere 
affection  of  those  who  knew  him  best. 

It  was  directed  that  these  resolutions  be  transmitted  to 
Mrs.  Eaton  and  the  Christian  Register. 


Hll  Souls'  Cburcb,  TKHasbfngton,  &♦  <L 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  All  Souls' 
Church,  held  January  25,  1900,  it  was  unanimously 

Resolved ',  That  in  the  death  of  Hon.  Dorman  B.  Eaton 
the  country  has  lost  one  of  its  most  patriotic  citizens, 
ever  striving  to  advance  the  cause  of  purity  in  govern- 
ment, a  liberal  and  generous  giver,  both  in  life  and  in 
death,  to  all  good  objects,  and  a  worker  in  both  word  and 
deed  for  everything  that  makes  for  righteousness. 

Resolved,  That  we  recall  with  pride  that  Mr.  Eaton  was 
a  lifelong  Unitarian,  and  more  especially  that  he  was, 
from  1884  to  1886,  an  honored  and  useful  member  of  this 
Board. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  transmit  a  copy  of  these 
resolutions  to  Mrs.  Eaton,  with  the  assurance  of  our  per- 
sonal sorrow  at  the  passing  away  of  one  whom  we  so 
highly  valued  as  a  citizen  and  a  man. 

WM.    C.    KEECH, 

Secretary. 


Gix>U  Service  IReform  association. 

A  minute  adopted  by  the  Civil  Service  Reform  Asso- 
ciation at  a  special  meeting  held  in  the  City  of  New  York, 
Wednesday,  December  27,  1899: 

By  the  death  of  our  associate  and  friend,  Dorman  B. 
Eaton,  the  country  has  lost  a  model  citizen  and  the  cause 
of  our  good  government  one  of  its  truest  and  foremost 
champions. 

He  was  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word  a  public  man 
in  private  station.  His  active  life  furnished  a  striking 
example  of  the  great  service  a  private  citizen  may  under 
our  free  institutions  render  to  the  public  interest,  and 
without  possessing  official  power.  The  rectitude  of  his 
character  and  his  enlightened  public  spirit  made  him  a 
natural  enemy  of  misgovernment  in  every  form,  and  he 
brought  into  the  struggle  against  the  forces  of  disorder 
and  corruption  not  only  the  most  unselfish  devotion  and 
untiring  energy,  but  also  superior  abilities  armed  with 
large  knowledge  and  an  uncommon  constructive  skill. 

He  was  a  maker  of  laws  without  ever  being  a  mem- 
ber of  a  legislative  body.  Important  acts  of  legislation 
originally  drawn  by  him  stand  on  the  statute  books  of 
the  United  States  as  well  as  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
He  may  well  be  said  to  have  been  the  legislative  archi- 
tect of  Civil  Service  Reform  in  this  republic,  for  even- 
law  now    in   force  that  embodies  the  true   principle  of 


86 

Civil  Service  Reform  was  either  originally  framed  by 
him,  or  at  least  shaped  in  its  principal  features  upon  the 
lines  which  he  had  originally  laid  down. 

To  the  cause  of  Civil  Service  Reform  he  gave  the 
most  instructive  literature ;  to  it  he  devoted  the  last 
efforts  of  his  life,  and  with  it  his  name  will  forever  be 
most  honorably  identified. 

Thus  the  American  people  owe  him  a  large  debt  of 
gratitude ;  but  those  who,  like  ourselves,  have  had  the 
privilege  of  being  long  and  closely  associated  with  him  in 
his  endeavors,  can  best  bear  testimony  to  the  quiet  enthu- 
siasm, the  noble  disinterestedness  and  the  courageous 
constancy  of  his  zeal  for  the  public  good  ;  to  the  wisdom 
of  his  counsel,  sustained  by  a  rare  breadth  and  accuracy 
of  knowledge,  as  well  as  to  the  kindly  and  courteous 
dignity  of  his  bearing  and  his  unfailing  amiability  in  his 
intercourse  with  his  co-workers.  We  shall  never  cease 
to  hold  his  memory  in  the  highest  esteem  and  affection, 
and  to  the  members  of  his  family  he  left  behind  him  we 
offer  our  most  heartfelt  sympathy  in  their  painful 
bereavement. 

C.   vSCHURZ, 

President. 
GEORGE  McANENY, 

Secretary. 


Union  Xeague  Club. 

The  Union  League  Club,  at  a  meeting  held  on  the  8th 
day  of  February,  1900,  directed  the  following  minute  to 
be  entered  upon  its  records  as  a  tribute  to  the  memory  at 
Mr.  Dorm  an  B.  Eaton  : 

The  Union  League  has  lost,  in  Mr.  Dorman  B.  Eaton, 
a  member  who  has  been  unselfishly  active  in  the  further- 
ance of  its  purposes  throughout  its  entire  history.  He 
was  elected  at  the  first  meeting  after  its  organization,  on 
the  nomination  of  Dr.  Henry  W.  Bellows;  and  from  that 
time  till  the  day  of  his  death  his  public  spirit  and  high 
sense  of  duty  led  to  his  fearless  and  zealous  support  of 
all  the  worthy  movements  in  which  this  Club  has  been 
concerned. 

His  life  was  purely  professional  and  reformatory.  The 
only  high  public  office  he  ever  held  he  resigned  twice, 
each  time  after  a  comparatively  brief  incumbency.  His 
public  activities  were  never  a  source  of  private  profit  ; 
nor  did  they  seem  to  be  directed  by  a  desire  for  either 
promotion  or  popularity.  Certainly  he  never  sought  to 
have  any  man  his  friend  who  practiced  a  corrupt  use  of 
public  patronage  or  strove  merely  to  make  money  out  of 
office-holding. 

But  he  habitually  gave  his  own  time  and  labor  un- 
stintedly to  work  which  he  belived  essential  to  the  gen- 
eral welfare,  and  his  name  is  indelibly  associated  with 


three  great  reforms.  He  was  the  author  of  the  law 
organizing  our  Board  of  Health  and  of  the  Sanitary  Code 
under  which  the  death  rate  in  this  city  was  greatly 
reduced.  He  was  the  author  of  the  National  Civil 
Service  Act  of  1883.  And,  thirdly,  he  was  the  origi- 
nator of  the  paid  Fire  Department  of  this  city,  the 
author  of  its  system  of  Police  Courts,  of  other  details  in 
Municipal  Reform,  and  at  last  of  a  comprehensive  scheme 
for  the  non-partisan  government  of  municipalities,  to 
which  the  latest  efforts  of  his  useful  life  were  devoted. 

Mr.  Eaton  was  born  at  Hardwick,  Caledonia  County, 
Vermont,  June  23,  1823.  He  was  graduated  from  the 
University  of  Vermont,  1848,  and  from  the  Harvard  Law 
School,  1850.  Thereafter,  he  was  a  lawyer  in  this  city 
till  his  death.  He  was  an  associate  editor  of  the  seventh 
edition  of  "  Kent's  Commentaries,"  editor  of  "  Chipman 
on  Contracts,"  author  of  a  work  on  the  development  of 
the  English  Civil  Service,  prepared  at  the  request  of 
President  Hayes  and  first  published  by  Congress ;  of  a 
similar  report,  published  by  Congress,  on  the  administra- 
tion of  the  New  York  Custom  House  and  Post-Office,  and 
of  a  work  on  municipal  government.  He  was  appointed 
Civil  Service  Commissioner  by  Presidents  Grant,  Arthur 
and  Cleveland.  He  was  repeatedly  Chairman  of  this 
Club's  Committee  on  Political  Reform.  He  died  in  this 
city  December  23,  1899. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  instructed  to  enter  the 
foregoing  minute  of  Mr.  Eaton's  public  services  and  of 
The  Union  League  Club's  regard  for  him  upon  our 
records  and  forward  a  copy  to  his  family. 


Cits  Club  of  flew  Korfe. 

Resolutions  passed  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  City 
Club  of  New  York  on  April  4,  1900  : 

I.  Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  our  esteemed  and  ven- 
erable brother,  Dortnan  B.  Eaton,  this  Club,  in  common 
with  the  city  and  the  nation,  has  suffered  a  great  and  irrep- 
arable loss  ;  that,  while  deeply  deploring  his  death,  we 
look  with  pride  and  satisfaction  upon  the  achievements  of 
his  life  as  a  reformer,  and  regard  their  ever-widening  and 
increasing  influence  as  the  strongest  encouragement  to 
our  cause  and  a  high  incentive  to  patient,  unselfish  and 
persevering  effort  on  the  part  of  the  private  citizen  for 
the  uplifting  of  the  city  and  the  State  and  the  advance- 
ment of  the  science  of  government. 

II.  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed 
by  the  President,  to  be  known  as  the  "  Eaton  Memorial 
Committee,"  with  power  to  add  to  its  numbers,  the  pur- 
pose of  which  Committee  shall  be  to  provide  a  suitable 
memorial  of  Mr.  Eaton,  in  form  of  a  portrait  or  marble 
bust,  to  be  placed  in  the  Club  House,  in  recognition  of  his 
great  public  services,  high  and  scholarly  attainments  so 
unselfishly  devoted  to  the  public  good,  his  faithful  service 
to  this  Club  and  his  devotion  to  its  objects,  and,  above 
all,  that  those  who  shall  succeed  him  and  us  in  carrying 
forward  the  high  purposes  of  the  City  Club  may  be 
encouraged  by  the  remembrance  of  his  life  and  character 


go 

and  know  that  we  in  our  time  were  not  unmindful  of  the 
debt  we  owed  to  the  great  reformer,  Dorman  B.  Eaton. 

III.  And  be  it  further  resolved,  That  such  Committee 
be  authorized  to  collect  subscriptions  from  members  of 
the  Club  to  carry  out  such  purpose,  and  that  the  Com- 
mittee be  requested,  as  soon  as  such  bust  or  portrait  is 
completed,  to  appoint  an  evening  when  it  may  be  pre- 
sented to  the  Club  with  appropriate  ceremonies. 

The  President,  Wheeler  H.  Peckham,  appointed  the 
following  Committee :  J.  Noble  Haj'-es,  Alfred  R.  Conk- 
ling,  Frederick  Middlebrouk. 


•National  Xeague  for  tbe  protection  of 
Hmerican  Institutions. 

The  National  League  for  the  Protection  of  American 
Institutions  desires  to  place  on  record  its  sense  of  loss  in 
the  death  of  Dorman  B.  Eaton  : 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  Decem- 
ber 26,  1889,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Law  Com- 
mittee of  the  League,  and  continued  to  hold  that  position 
until  his  death.  On  November  10,  1892,  he  was  chosen 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  and  two  years  later 
was  elected  Vice-President,  to  succeed  the  late  Justice 
William  Strong,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States.  He  performed  all  the  duties  devolving  upon  him 
in  connection  with  the  League  with  the  utmost  fidelity 
and  with  distinguished  ability. 

He  was  a  man  of  rare  public  spirit,  and  was  signally 
devoted  to  the  noblest  ideals  of  the  Republic.  With  a 
keen  appreciation  of  our  national  perils  and  defects,  he 
was  not  a  mere  critic,  but  applied  his  conspicuous  powers 
and  matured  wisdom  to  remove  defects  and  to  defend  the 
institutions  which  he  loved. 

His  sustained  devotion  depended  neither  upon  public 
recognition  nor  upon  private  emolument.  Its  flame  was 
fed  by  the  oil  of  a  genuine  patriotism  which  was  as  con- 
stant as  his  country's  needs. 


92 

The  loss  which  we  sustain  in  his  death  is  shared  by  his 
city,  his  State  and  the  nation. 

By  order  of  the  Directors  of  the  National  League  for 
the  Protection  of  American  Institutions. 

W.  H.  PARSONS, 

President. 
JAMES  M.  KERNY, 

Secretary. 

New  York,  January  30,  1900. 


■■■■■■■ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

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